Cassie Ramone
You, dear reader, may recall that in the process of raving over La Sera's "Hour of the Dawn", I kind of got all misty-eyed reminiscing about Vivian Girls, so when I heard that Cassie Ramone - guitarist and vocalist with the much loved and missed Brooklyn / New Jersey trio - was releasing her solo debut album "The Time Has Come" I made a mental note to check it out...
OK, so the album was released at the back end of August - I've just about got my shit together now we're in October - but am I glad I finally did...
In the interests of brevity lets just cut to the chase...
Fucking hell this record is g-r-e-a-t.
I half-expected to hear a Vivian Girls-meets-La Sera-meets-Colleen Green lo-fi, guitar-fueled indie-pop (i.e. all jangly guitars and female vocals) - to be honest I'm not sure why (after all, Frankie Rose has reinvented herself as the purveyor of top-notch quality dreamy synthesiser pop) - instead I'm falling in love with a homely, intimate indie-folk album that sounds like it was recorded in her bedroom with only her guitar for company...
And you know, it's just absolutely, fucking, gorgeous...
In fact I knew I was going to love this album from the first few strummed bars of "Songs of love" - on the surface all bright and bubbly - Cassie's distinctive nasal vocals floating over a deceptively bouncy melody - but there's a noticeably dark undercurrent to the lyrics ("Everyday I thank the Lord, that I'm not where I was before") that hints at a troublesome past that can't quite be put to bed - it's a really cleverly constructed song which had me hooked on the first listen. By way of contrast the next track, "The time has come" is deliberately downbeat - a heartfelt, painful song about saying goodbye which all the while hints at a somewhat more fatal loss and passing (IMHO - of course I could be talking complete bollox...)
And can I just add that I love the ballsiness of "I’m a Freak”; it starts out as a huge 'fuck-off' song to a guy whose been stringing her along. There's a couple of fantastically discordant guitar breaks (which almost - but not quite - wander off and do their own thing) before Cassie pulls it all together with the realisation that while the guy is indeed a Grade A knob, she still wants to (or needs to) be with him.... This song neatly dovetails with "Hangin On" - an achingly beautiful song which marries perfectly with the angelic-tone of Cassie's voice as she tells of her unrequited love for a guy who has to all intent and purpose moved-on - the two songs really do work well together and hint at the theme of fragility that is woven throughout the album.
In the interests of brevity lets just cut to the chase...
Fucking hell this record is g-r-e-a-t.
I half-expected to hear a Vivian Girls-meets-La Sera-meets-Colleen Green lo-fi, guitar-fueled indie-pop (i.e. all jangly guitars and female vocals) - to be honest I'm not sure why (after all, Frankie Rose has reinvented herself as the purveyor of top-notch quality dreamy synthesiser pop) - instead I'm falling in love with a homely, intimate indie-folk album that sounds like it was recorded in her bedroom with only her guitar for company...
And you know, it's just absolutely, fucking, gorgeous...
In fact I knew I was going to love this album from the first few strummed bars of "Songs of love" - on the surface all bright and bubbly - Cassie's distinctive nasal vocals floating over a deceptively bouncy melody - but there's a noticeably dark undercurrent to the lyrics ("Everyday I thank the Lord, that I'm not where I was before") that hints at a troublesome past that can't quite be put to bed - it's a really cleverly constructed song which had me hooked on the first listen. By way of contrast the next track, "The time has come" is deliberately downbeat - a heartfelt, painful song about saying goodbye which all the while hints at a somewhat more fatal loss and passing (IMHO - of course I could be talking complete bollox...)
And can I just add that I love the ballsiness of "I’m a Freak”; it starts out as a huge 'fuck-off' song to a guy whose been stringing her along. There's a couple of fantastically discordant guitar breaks (which almost - but not quite - wander off and do their own thing) before Cassie pulls it all together with the realisation that while the guy is indeed a Grade A knob, she still wants to (or needs to) be with him.... This song neatly dovetails with "Hangin On" - an achingly beautiful song which marries perfectly with the angelic-tone of Cassie's voice as she tells of her unrequited love for a guy who has to all intent and purpose moved-on - the two songs really do work well together and hint at the theme of fragility that is woven throughout the album.
The one thing that really strikes me is how intimate - personal - this album feels. I almost want to apologise for intruding on Cassie's thoughts... especially on a track such as “I Don’t Really Wanna.” It seems an incredibly introspective portrait (with Cassie disarmingly referring to herself in the third-person...)
The album's closing tracks, "Sensitive soul" and "I send my love to you" are both built upon beautiful melodies - the former features some glorious multi-tracking of Cassie's vocals while the latter is an arresting and tender love song. It's a bewitching bookend to a beautiful and thoughtful album...
As I stated at the start of this album review, I was expecting to hear plenty of jangly guitars and female vocals - in fact even "Joe's song," which kicks-off, guitar ablazin' as arguably the closest song on this album to her earlier stint in Vivian Girls is throttled-back with some gloriously melodic and reverbed guitar riffs - instead I found myself mesmerised and - not for the first time - reminded wistfully of the post-punk vibe and semi-autobiographical musing of bands such as Hatfield Poly's finest The Marine Girls and especially Tracey Thorn's seminal "A Distant Shore."
I've read reviews that compare this album with the subversive (and at times dark) indie-folk sensibilities of Angel Olsen but to be honest there's far more in common with the home-spun philosophies of Olympia, WA's Oh Rose and L.A.'s very own Bethany Corsentino (especially if you listen to this album back-to-back with Best Coast's "Don't Fade Away")
Cassie Ramone's "The Time Has Come" is indeed personal, at times introverted and melancholic, often introspective but ultimately and abso-bloody-lutely a totally irresistible album.
Me? I can't begin to tell both you how much I love it but hopefully Cassie as well, the she next plays LA...
Cassie Ramone "The Time Has Come" (LogLady Records), (iTunes)
As I stated at the start of this album review, I was expecting to hear plenty of jangly guitars and female vocals - in fact even "Joe's song," which kicks-off, guitar ablazin' as arguably the closest song on this album to her earlier stint in Vivian Girls is throttled-back with some gloriously melodic and reverbed guitar riffs - instead I found myself mesmerised and - not for the first time - reminded wistfully of the post-punk vibe and semi-autobiographical musing of bands such as Hatfield Poly's finest The Marine Girls and especially Tracey Thorn's seminal "A Distant Shore."
I've read reviews that compare this album with the subversive (and at times dark) indie-folk sensibilities of Angel Olsen but to be honest there's far more in common with the home-spun philosophies of Olympia, WA's Oh Rose and L.A.'s very own Bethany Corsentino (especially if you listen to this album back-to-back with Best Coast's "Don't Fade Away")
Cassie Ramone's "The Time Has Come" is indeed personal, at times introverted and melancholic, often introspective but ultimately and abso-bloody-lutely a totally irresistible album.
Me? I can't begin to tell both you how much I love it but hopefully Cassie as well, the she next plays LA...
Cassie Ramone "The Time Has Come" (LogLady Records), (iTunes)
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