Cassette Kids have been busy. Since the frenetic and
aggressively energetic debut We Are was released in
2008, the band have spent a year riding their
self-created turbulence. This is a band who has endured
countless hours working on their craft in an insatiable
drive to create different and exciting music, and have
earned their stripes on tour with some of the biggest
acts in the business. Now ready to take on the world,
the Kids step up to deliver their coming-of-age full length
album Nothing On TV.
With typically indie rock influences that include
The Rapture, Klaxons, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and
No Doubt, Cassette Kids craft a grinding, colourful
version of the genre which is as catchy as it is
innovative. The quartet, which features singer
Katrina Noorbergen, guitarist Dan Schober,
bassist Dan Deitz and drummer
Jake Read-Harber, came together from four
distinct corners of the indie scene.
“We're all from completely different musical
backgrounds," Noorbergen explains.
"It's amazing how much we love the music we're
making because it's such a strange fusion of
what we're all into, but for some reason it
just works!"
After forming three years ago in a flourishing Sydney
live scene, the band have enjoyed a rapid rise
in popularity earned by their ability to make the
tamest dance floors gleam with sweat. The tracks
from their mini-album We Are, including the
crowd favourite You Take It, demanded just as much
attention on record as Noorbergen demanded on stage.
Word spread fast, and soon Lily Allen requested they
join her 2009 Australian tour. This topped off an
already impressive twenty-four months of touring
for the band which saw them play alongside The Music,
The Ting Tings, Crystal Castles, and a sold-out tour
with multi ARIA award winners The Presets, not to
mention Big Day Out 2008.
Following the creative storm of We Are, the band
set to work determined to create the very best
album they could produce, refining their talent
during a six month process of experimentation
with songwriting and instrumentation. They
later joined forces with Michael DiFrancesco,
producer and member of Sydney outfit
Van She, and engineer Richard Wilkinson
(Hot Chip, The Magic Numbers) who continued
to push the band's innovation whilst in the studio.
Noorbergen describes the process, "We're
always trying to play around and experiment
with sounds. Sometimes instead of starting with the
concept of writing a song we just start off with
sounds and what sounds do we like and does that
sound like anything we've heard before? Instead
of building around riffs we're about how something
sounds first and foremost and then we build around
that. That’s the reason we got Mikey and Rich
involved with the album, because we knew
they'd try to push those boundaries and bring along
a whole array of synths, drum machines and other
toys we could play around with to come up with some
really interesting music."
join her 2009 Australian tour. This topped off an
already impressive twenty-four months of touring
for the band which saw them play alongside The Music,
The Ting Tings, Crystal Castles, and a sold-out tour
with multi ARIA award winners The Presets, not to
mention Big Day Out 2008.
Following the creative storm of We Are, the band
set to work determined to create the very best
album they could produce, refining their talent
during a six month process of experimentation
with songwriting and instrumentation. They
later joined forces with Michael DiFrancesco,
producer and member of Sydney outfit
Van She, and engineer Richard Wilkinson
(Hot Chip, The Magic Numbers) who continued
to push the band's innovation whilst in the studio.
Noorbergen describes the process, "We're
always trying to play around and experiment
with sounds. Sometimes instead of starting with the
concept of writing a song we just start off with
sounds and what sounds do we like and does that
sound like anything we've heard before? Instead
of building around riffs we're about how something
sounds first and foremost and then we build around
that. That’s the reason we got Mikey and Rich
involved with the album, because we knew
they'd try to push those boundaries and bring along
a whole array of synths, drum machines and other
toys we could play around with to come up with some
really interesting music."
Along with their passion for sonic experimentation, the
album is inspired by some strong themes centred around
taking action, and the motivation to get up and take
charge of life, themes which ignite Noorbergen.
"The reason why we're in a band and we're being
creative is because we want to be proactive, do
what we want, to be part of and to create pop
culture rather than just passively consuming it,
” she says. "It's so much more satisfying running
amuck and being part of it. For us that's
what encapsulates the title of Nothing On
TV on so many levels."
The resulting record is a big step forward for
the band. Noorbergen's delivery is musically more
assured and confident, her use of melody now
more dynamic with the greater use of tone in her
voice, particularly in tracks such as Game Player
and Lying Around. Schober and Deitz's screaming,
squelching guitar and bass continues to stretch sonic
boundaries with their complicated network of effects
pedals. Freakie Sweetie and Hey Baby showcase
Schober's guitar stepping up a notch with his unique
and catchy lead hooks while Read-Harber sets the
temperature gauge on the skins. The album displays
a decidedly more pop-styled direction while
maintaining that unique Cassette Kids grit.
As their profile gains heat and their musicianship
matures, Cassette Kids have an exciting future
ahead of them. And with a lot of positive chatter
buzzing through the international industry, this
is an album which a lot of eyes are watching closely.
Nothing On TV heralds the arrival of one of
Australia's most
entertaining young bands. They could not be
more ready for the challenge.
Cassette Kids - Club Fandango, Wednesday 17th February - 229 Club, London
Cassette Kids - All Teeth, Thursday 18th February - Buffalo Bar,
Islington, London
Cassette Kids - Last FM, Friday 19th february - Barfly, Camden, London
Cassette Kids - All Teeth, Thursday 18th February - Buffalo Bar,
Islington, London
Cassette Kids - Last FM, Friday 19th february - Barfly, Camden, London
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