Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Owen Ashworth dropped out of film school and turned to music when he realised it was a cheaper way of telling stories. Using Casiotone for the Painfully Alone as his guise, Ashworth has really pinched his pennies with his third album, Twinkle Echo. Like the Russian Futurists without the firm grasp of melody, CFTPA count on garage sales and charity shops for those bargains on cheap, Fisher-Price musical instruments. Kitchen sink production, along with simplistic arrangements make Ashworth’s batch of endearing tales all the more special. However, while his words paint an accurate portrait of heartache, Ashworth’s voice lets him down. His gravely voice isn’t cut out to play the role of the soft-spoken lovesick puppy. Earlier this year, the Postal Service hit the bull’s-eye with their record, large in part to Ben Gibbard’s darling voice. Had Ashworth brought in a ringer to sing for him, Twinkle Echo could have raised the bar from good to stunning.