A Stirring Delight
Forget Cassettes' yelping transcendent rock mixes heavy, dirty guitar riffs with versatile and flighty vocals from singer Beth Cameron. There's plenty of artistic My Bloody Valentine-esque purposeful meandering as hypnotic guitar riffs drifts over the jerky tune of 'The Catch' like a mystic fog, while ' Nicholas' is a careful and raw tune that displays floating female vocals with the same edge and nervous tension that Katie Jane Garside masters before exploding into a scythe-sharp onslaught of guitars. Beauty always has a barbed wire edge with Forget Cassettes.
Calculated rage is expressed through looming riffs then followed by almost schizophrenic delicately picked notes right from the start in, 'Venis On'. 'Salt' is constantly throwing every musical proposal that it makes you upside down within minutes, and these minutes are often within the same tune as run time's per track stretch up to a formidable 6 minutes 18. This leaves the listener disconcerted, but unable to become complacent that they've got the measure of each track until they've heard them several times.
The tightly wound tunes never wander on too long but are full of the drama of changing tides as the monstrous beat of 'My Maraschino' suddenly blasts the preceding thoughtful melody out of the water, adding compulsive and brutal edge. The contrasts are always complementary however, uncovering the secret urges behind the most peaceful of refrains. The percussion too, is precise as it trips you up with its fluctuating rhythm.
A standout track that really makes you sit up and listen is 'Lonely Does It', which is full of malice from the beginning with moaning vocals overlaying singer Beth Cameron's undulating calls. 'Patience Beth Reprise' juxtaposes children's gleeful cries with an angst-ridden tune and Beth's cries of, "I know it hurts, but good God girl get up and fight for it", it's an impassioned and moving affair that proves the strength of this group.
This Nashville group have to be one of the most mesmerising and captivating discoveries of 2007 so far and once you've got past the initial sting, the taste salt leaves in your mouth is sure to be a pleasant one.