100 Bands in 100 Days Presented by Verity Credit Union — Day 53: The Cheap Cassettes
Ladies and gentlemen, and all local music enthusiasts, welcome back and thank you for joining us for the fourth annual outing of our year-end daily local music spotlight, 100 Bands in 100 Days, where every day until December 31st, we’ll be showcasing a new band or artist on the cutting edge of the Northwest, presented by Verity Credit Union. Make sure to check the #100Bands100Days hashtag at Twitter daily to stay on top of all the bands featured, and make sure to follow Verity on Twitter and NW_Music_Scene as well. Some days the featured act could be an established and locally-adored Northwest-based musician and other times they could be a band with a small following that just hasn’t had their deserved time in the sun yet. Either way, we’re fairly confident you can come away from this daily segment with plenty of new favorites. Seattle is no stranger to snappy, modern power pop as instantaneous as it is ferocious, and today’s band is an audacious example, The Cheap Cassettes.
Few bands are able to ride the line between merciless punk energy and sweet pop-rock hooks and melodies without one drowning out the other, but the Cheap Cassettes are here to deliver both with sincerity and determination. Born in Seattle back in 2011, the three-piece garage-punks’ rock energy makes excellent use of a less-is-more approach. Once you hit the play button, Cheap Cassettes won’t waste your time with needless intros and outros – these songs are mostly built on simple, but effective riffs and memorable sing-along choruses. They like to keep their guitars caked in distortion and texture, and their performances bombastic and arena-sized.
All Anxious, All the Time, the Cheap Cassettes’ 12-song ode to ’70s rock, filthy garage rock and underground-friendly power pop, was reissued on physical CD in February of 2017, opening this record up to a new audience and stopping them dead in their tracks. The jangly, summery pop-rock of The Replacements are a notable influence throughout much of this album, but with just enough added fire and flair to keep the listener on their toes. Lead singer Chaz Matthews brings vibrancy and daring swagger to the band’s music, which is especially accentuated by Mike Isberg’s firm bass and Kevin Parkhurst’s tough drum beats. Together, these three know how to kick ass better than most, and their primal intensity can be felt both in the studio and on the stage.
Those of you in need of your daily dose of rock, look no further than the Cheap Cassettes.
(Listen to the band’s latest release, the split single “Hieroglyphics In Lipstick/Worse N’ Better,” below; you can keep up with them via Facebook and their record label, Cassette on Record Records.)
A huge shoutout to Verity Credit Union for doing so much for the music community and for being such a great partner.
