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Cassette: Cut for Summer

Here's a band clearly in no rush. Formed in 2000, Cassette released the acclaimed 'Emo' EP and then waited another six years before finally returning with this, their first full-length album. Their songs are in no rush either and though the album starts off at a trot, it soon relaxes to a canter and moves between these speeds without ever really breaking a sweat. It is this steady pace and their strong vocal and guitar melodies (with the odd bit of slide) that give the music a slight alt-country feel, despite the warm distortion and heavy drums. The threesome have a great sense of feel and Tom Watson certainly knows how to write a hook, which means that each track has something to offer. On first listen Pick Me Up stands out as a hit - with its on-off switch guitar whine starting it off at a faster clip, before it unleashes some inspired noise in its outro. However, after further listens, it is the more meandering tracks that build the mood of the album and give it coherency as a whole. The end result has all the charm and melancholy you'd find in the slow unwinding of a summer's day.

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