August 03 2006
Album Review: Cassette – Cut For Summer
posted by Steven Shaw at 2:34 pm
Cassette – Cut For Summer (Tardus Music)
Cassette quickly become the darlings of NZ indie rock a few years ago, largely off the back of a student radio single called “Don’t Let Anyone” (Get You Started). It was brilliant, friendly sounding and harked back to the country-rock sounds of Neil Young, Gram Parsons – and in particular, The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” (which, according to legend, Parsons recorded before the Stones did).
After finishing a rather nifty EP called Emo, they saddled up and left town, ostensibly to further their musical careers in Melbourne. Anyone who followed the local music press knew that was also code for pulling coffees and landscaping gardens in the daytime.
Now after what seems like decades (over five years), Cassette has released their debut album. And with a gap like that it’s a bit of a ‘what we did on our five-year lost weekend’ – but that’s okay. Because it’s damn good.
The lineup here is Tom Watson, Craig Terris, and former Letterbox Lamb Paul Trigg, who replaced original bassist Dave Fraser.
It starts off with “Cannot Tell”, a dreamy affair that would sound right at home next to Aussie band The Sleepy Jackson, and winds its way slowly but surely through 12 tracks. The album verges on psychedelia in parts and pushes a slower brand of rock in others.
“Not Home” and “Anticipate” have a J. Mascis vibe, which taking into account the slower stuff on here, probably means Neil Young and Crazy Horse are high on the list of influences. But it ain’t no country album.
Fave song so far is “High Pressure Crap”. Any song that starts with “Doo doo dooo” before going into “Aah-aaah” generally has me hooked from the outset. This song is a simple masterpiece and the keyboard parts bring Steely Dan to mind. That is, if Steely Dan had just recorded simply instead of deliberating and overcooking the natural vibe out of their songs. Lyrics like “Stop shooting off your guns and spend some time doing nothing…we’re gonna wait until the bags lift from our eyes” reinforce the no-hurry no-worry sentiment which prevails throughout.
Sleepy, yes. Groovy, yes. Slow yourself down a little and sink back into it.