Casiotone For The Painfully Alone "Vs. Children"

"The stories are not me. I am just a storyteller, a writer. Sure, my songs are sort of fictionalised accounts; collages of situations that happened to me or to other people. I just feel these are stories worth telling and there's a lot of real emotions behind them, but they're not the real entries" - Owen Ashworth on his songwriting process

It's no surprise that Owen Ashworth spends so much time dealing with questions about how personal his lyrics are. In some respects, he chose one of the most limiting band names imaginable - the name alone makes it easy for people to form preconceived notions of what Casiotone For The Painfully Alone are all about without having even heard a single note. People expect a perma-lonely individual pouring his heart out, and even though to a certain extent that is the truth of things, ultimately, the personal connection he has with his own lyrics is clearly derived from the sense of artistic pride any artist feels towards their own work.

"The stories are what's important: I'm not looking for sympathy. I want to create music that's comforting but it doesn't feel like there's something I need to get off my chest; there's nothing I personally feel I need to say."

These quotes were Ashworth talking ahead of the release of 2006's Etiquette, an album that represented a major leap forward in terms of musicology. The often self-imposed limitations of the three albums that preceded it were replaced by songs that incorporated guitar, bass and drums - a more conventional approach, to be sure, but a hugely successful one into the bargain. In terms of lyrical content, the progression wasn't quite so dramatic - thematically, the songs largely stuck to the 'loss and loneliness' template previous Casiotone albums established, although the tales that did unfold contained a greater sense of depth, Ashworth's growing confidence reflected in his delivery.

If Etiquette was Ashworth taking a very deliberate step forward musically, then it's only fair to view Vs. Children as a step forward lyrically - one man stepping away from the constraints inherent in such an evocative band name in order to prove that his talents aren't as limited as detractors might imagine. It may not be a concept album as such, but the recurring theme that ties the album together is meditations on the wisdom of bringing a child into the world. Before that debate becomes the centrepiece of the narrative, however, Ashworth delivers two accounts of criminality. "Tom Justice, The Choir Boy Robber, Apprehended at Ace Hardware in Libertyville, IL" is a tale that unfolds exactly as the title would lead you to expect, one that captures the imagination due to its imaginative religious imagery - the lines detailing how Tom came by the 'Choir Boy' nickname are filled with a sense of dark humour, and his eventual capture is described as though it were Tom's penance. The song references Bonnie and Clyde, whilst the lyrics of "Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In)" also allude to the pair, describing an unconventional love story in the aftermath of a hesit - the narrator details "a mess of cash in duffel bags" before dropping his guard and revealing his hopes for the future, making plans to "raise a little family on Schlitz/And Mickey Mouse."

Over the course of the album, though, it becomes clear that these plans never came to fruition. In "Natural Light" the mood is reflective, the lines "what if we'd had a child/I guess he'd be fifteen" delivered in a manner that betrays a certain amount of disappointment that they didn't choose that path; however, by the time "Killers" comes around, the tone is completely different, with Ashworth singing "we could be killers/just for one night" in his most convincing - almost seductive - voice, imploring his pregnant lover to abort the child that he doesn't feel capable of raising, lamenting that "you're a parent/til you're dead," and clearly wanting no part of such a responsibility. The album ends with "White Jetta," the closing refrain of which sees the protagonist hoping "to stay the same to never change," sentiments that make it obvious that he's comfortable with things the way they are, which may well be considered immature and selfish, but at least it's honest.

That closing line takes on a greater importance when considering Ashworth's oeuvre. Vs. Children remains true to the spirit of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone whilst making it clear that Ashworth isn't content to "stay the same," as the constant evolution of each new release makes evident. Vs. Children is his most complete album to date, further proof that the Casiotone vehicle has broken free of its supposed restrictions, and become something more than the sum of its initial parts.

On a related note, I saw him play live for the fourth time last month, and when he was joined by a full band for the second half of the show, the music came across in such a way as to convince me that - in some parallel universe - this band would be playing the Heartbreak Hotel lounge bar every single night. And I mean that as the highest of compliments.