Casiotone For The Painfully Alone’s Owen Ashworth is a storyteller. The film school dropout turned from the screen to the keyboard as his chosen medium for his stories – and let me tell you, these are not by any means tales for children. Ashworth’s newest album, Vs. Children is a shimmering contradiction of childlike-sounds and adult situations. The album features topics ranging from thievery, to questions of identity, struggling relationships, to death and abortion, and of course, the ever-present inevitability of change. Overall, Vs. Children plays like a good novel – developed characters, spot-on descriptive language, a solid base to tie all the chapters together, and smooth transitions to make the album fly by in no time at all.
“Casiotone For The Painfully Alone Vs. Children” opens in a flurry of magical strings, setting the mood for the youthful and playful plunking of “Tom Justice, The Choir Boy Robber, Apprehended at Libertyville, IL.” Ashworth’s low voice is matter-of-fact and curious as he wonders about Tom the Thief and his capture in front of Ace Hardware. “Optimist vs. Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In)” continues in the theft/runaway genre with an upbeat bounce that, well, marches straight into inevitable catchiness. “We’re laughin’ through the fear / We’ll never make the clear / You never looked so dear / It’s the end of our career” is preceded by such nonchalant hallelujahs that it almost seems the fugitives are taking off in a little red wagon instead of a get-away car.
“Natural Light” and “Traveling Salesman’s Young Wife Home Alone On Christmas In Montpelier, VT” feel heavier and more burdensome than the first tracks, as Ashworth relates the disheartening tales of an old friend, who cut her hair like a boy and now goes by George, and a married woman struggling to hold tight to fleeting promises. The full chords of the piano and the shakes of the tambourine of the latter offer a certain warmth and hope behind such honesty – “Well all I really want is you close to me / But you were already out the door by the time that occurred to me.”
On the next three tracks, CFTPA’s use of instrumentation as a base and backdrop for his portraits of lost or struggling souls is displayed in its finest. Though charming, the electronic chords and beats fade into humming drones as the dreary tales continue with descriptions of a wife and child left behind. In “Man O War”, a crashed couple smeared across the pavement (“Northfield, MN”), and another couple considering abortion (“Killers”) becomes clear and real. Horrifying as the circumstances may be, CFTPA somehow creates lightness to the sound that is both calming and comforting.
“Harsh The Herald Angels Sing” sneers at the glad-tide giving angels as morning brings gifts of soreness and illness - “Doctor tell me you’re joking.” The narration hits reality cold and hard, and this frankness continues reflectively into the next tracks. The bell-like tones of “You Were Alone” make lines like “So why’d you go? / The party’s full of friends that you lost in the break-up / Did you think he’d choke / And be impressed by a new dress and your sister’s make-up?” a well-wished wake-up call. With a note of finality, “White Jetta” looks back to the familiarity of childhood and a drive around the old neighborhood, and forward to adulthood and the uncertainty of the future. A dying mother offers her insight: “The less you feel like a child / The more you’ll want a child / To stay the same / To never change.”
Vs. Children is yet another accomplished piece of work by CFTPA. Ashworth’s training in film and attention to visual detail translates beautifully into simple descriptions that encapsulate what his music is all about. The result is a novel record that will tug at your heart a little, make you think, and hopefully leave you a little less lonely.
Track List
1. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Vs. Children (0:50)
2. Tom Justice, The Choir Boy Robber, Apprehended at Libertyville, IL (4:13)
3. Optimist vs. Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In) (1:51)
4. Natural Light (2:24)
5. Traveling Salesman's Young Wife Home Alone On Christmas In Montpelier, VT (2:46)
6. Man O War (3:09)
7. Northfield, MN (5:09)
8. Killers (2:40)
9. Harsh the Herald Angels Sing (3:06)
10. You Were Alone (2:59)
11. White Jetta (3:17)
