French Cassettes
French Cassettes music is filled with winding
melodies that pop up unexpectedly but grab hold and don't let go... and may leave
you asking "who needs hands with hooks like these?"
The harmony-driven power-pop quartet's new LP,
Rolodex (Sophomore LP released on Tender Loving Empire), was conceived beneath a
stairwell in the band's adopted hometown of San Francisco, where frontman Scott
Huerta spent months staying up until 4 am, obsessing over elaborate demos that
would eventually become his band's sophomore album. "I adopted the mentality,
which was probably unhealthy, that every song I wrote needed to be my favorite
song," he remembers. "I lost my mind so many times in the middle of the night."
The album was self-recorded by lead guitarist
Mackenzie Bunch in
just about every corner of the Bay Area, and the songs that were eventually
stitched together are hook-filled and rooted in pop. But they're also layered and
intricate recordings: complex vocal harmonies and counter-harmonies, Rob Mills'
inventive percussion, Thomas' (Scott's brother) honey-coated basslines, and
every shade of clean and fuzzy guitars stacked up like an orchestra. These
uncommonly majestic, esoteric pop forms serve as the perfect delivery service
for Huerta's playful and verbose lyrics, which are often presented as
semi-autobiographical puzzles.
Taken together, the eight tracks and 24
minutes that make up Rolodex are an
epic statement of purpose in a decidedly taut package. One that brought a band
back together, more mature and more ambitious than ever.