Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Etiquette
Tomlab (2006)
My initial experience with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (henceforth referred to as simply 'tones, to save me a fair bit of typing) was not an audio one. Rather, for sometime the only working knowledge that I had of the band was their lyrics which I read through after Soulseek dropped the ball and returned no search results. This, granted, was several years ago now but my opinion of the band has always been skewed because of the by numbers lyrical approach of 'tones Owen Ashworth. Faux pas like "It's not the point that I'm mad, you fucked me up pretty bad" are enough to make anyone recoil, particularly when the words are right at the forefront and not buried beneath a torrent of loud guitars. Shitty metal bands take note: this doesn't mean you're off the hook. Etiquette is Ashworth's fourth album and his first in three years. This time I have heard it before I have read it, as it were, which in turn allowed its plus points to shine through. The melodies, the soft downbeat vocals, the fine placed keys. Musically it's the band's most varied effort thus far, which still means it's like a college version … Read more
The First Step
What We Know
Rivalry (2006)
Almost ten years ago the California hardcore band Chain of Strength asked, "Has the edge gone dull?" The edge hasn't … Read more
