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Although the output of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone's Owen Ashworth has largely been an aesthetic exercise in the power of quiet harshness and the conflicts therein, one might expect that an EP format might be a chance to experiment with sounds, to go for an overriding ‘feel’. To an extent, Ashworth does this – there’s a spooked melancholy to the opening trundle, ‘Ice Cream Truck’, that lasts throughout even the more plaintive tunes, but it’s difficult not to want more of a challenge. Pleasing in its dainty menace though this opener is, the atmosphere is too readily identifiable and doesn’t change much for the duration.
The instrumental ‘Town Topic’ has shades of Joby Talbot’s work with The Divine Comedy or perhaps a lighter Tindersticks interlude but, again, there is no variation for the listener to engage with. The milieu is created instantly and not developed and we, try as we might, can’t get any more enjoyment out of it than a first impression. Were this an experiment in melodic minimalism then it may have worked, but to have a melody-dominated piece not develop in an interesting way is disappointing. Similarly, the final piece proper, ‘Green Cotton Sweater’ is another case in point – it is a pleasing melody, certainly, but not one in which it is easy to be an active participant.
The remainder of this EP is made up of charming snippets, fragmented tunes that rarely make it to a minute in length each. These are the boiled-down symptoms of what makes the first four tracks of the EP not quite the experience it could be – invention without repetition. Repeat these tunes without development in the same way that the first portion of the record does and we can’t seem to make an effective dialogue with the music. This, for all we know, could be the point. Maybe we’re supposed to coldly observe Ashworth while he emotes confusingly, or maybe these songs aren’t as finished as they could be. Either way, it makes Town Topic a less than involving experience. Though there are moments of woozy invention, they are cast off before they’ve had a chance to fulfil their potential.
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It's this a re-release on a different label?
I thought this came out early in the year on OIB Records? It looks like the same cover and tracks... I'm confused.com.
i've got this
on OIB. i too am confused. notdotcom.
^ Ditto
Picked it up at a live show about 6 months ago.
This
is actually a CD compiling the 4 track 7" 'Town Topic' EP that we (OIB Records) released which featured the two vocal tracks and two instrumentals. AND the 'STSNC instrumentals' 7" that the Olympia Washington label 'people in a position to know' recently released on random colour vinyl. The 'STSNC inst' record has 10 instrumental tracks including all the character ringtones that Owen wrote for the film. Oh yeah I should probably say that this release is the soundtrack to the Laurel Nakadate film 'Stay The Same Never Change'.
The artwork of the CD is the same as the artwork we used for the 7", it's a still from the film. The cover of the 'STSNC inst' record is a drawing of a walrus that Owen drew. The CD version comes in a 'single' CD case and in my opinion the colours are a bit too vivid in comparison to our vinyl release, but obviously that's just personal taste.
We've actually got a handful of both 7" releases that we are selling together as a deal on our website WWW.OIBRECORDS.COM
Well, that clears that up...
Cheers. Look forward to further OIB releases... always lovingly packaged!
.
Thanks man. Them's kind words :)
glad i've got
both the 7's then, which both lucky real purrty


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