Cassino | Sounds of SalvationEmpty Bottle Evenings

Jul262014July 26, 2014July 29, 2014No Commentby Bake

Cassino | Sounds of Salvation

Posted in Music

Cassino rolls the dice on new sound. Finds winning combination on new album. Beats the odds to deliver a gem. New songs are coming up aces. Nick Torres and Tyler Odom go all in with Sounds of Salvation. Alright, now that we got that out of our system there will be no more stupid puns related to their name. It’s been almost a decade since the band was formed from the ashes of Northstar, and therefore, plenty of time to have used up all corny headlines one could imagine. Also, spelling counts around here. (I mean something has to and it sure isn’t content, grammar, or timely updates) Let’s just talk about the music.

While a couple songs on Sounds of Salvation (“The Gin War”, “Lolita) resemble Torres and Odom’s previous outfit there was a clear change in sound from one band to the next. Most of the electric guitar is gone, replaced by a folkier acoustic rock sound. It’s a good fit for their somber lyrics as well as Torres’s voice, which at times was too strained rocking out hard with Northstar. Now it’s properly strained. Pained, folk singer strained. After all these 11 tracks, as demonstrated by the cover art, are the soundtrack to living on the side walk. It’s a cold, desolate society we have out there. As he sings on “American Low”: “It’s enough to make you give up, she says, I know, I know, I know. It shows.”

The album opens with “Governor”, a great intro to the sound Cassino was trying to establish. “The Old Year” follows and it’s probably my favorite track on the album: “I am god damned, been blown from the hinge, and I can now barely stand”. Yep, I’ve been there before. Unless he’s actually talking about a hurricane. I don’t know, I’m terrible at deciphering lyrics. “New Jerusalem” is apparently about the Queen of Jerusalem, which seems like an interesting story and all, but this song just reminds me that every band could use a horn section on at least a few songs. “Boomerang” emphasizes acoustic guitar and Perez’s signature fading in and out vocals, both in volume and intelligibility. Finally, Cassino closes the album with the piercing piano ballad “Ice Factory”. Each song is different, but it feels like a very cohesive album. One that you should enjoy listening to from start to finish whenever you have a spare 45 minutes and feel like contemplating the sadness in society. You know, your typical Saturday night party music. Go wild.