At first glance, finding nearly three-dozen songs crowding a single disc seems no small achievement. And indeed, one must give kudos to Cassette for the overflow of ambition that drives Beautiful California, the re-release of an album that originally came out in 2005. The brainchild of obvious over-achiever Devin Smith, Cassette cover a wide musical terrain, as befitting the ample opportunity for elaboration they’ve provided themselves here. However in the interest of full disclosure, many of these tracks are more sketches than songs, and few offer much in the way of a lingering melody. In fact, Cassette’s preoccupation with edgy, agitated rhythms makes any attempt at easy accessibility a challenge at best. Nonetheless, their skittish sensibility plays well into the overall concept, which, in itself, seems sort of homage to ADD. Due to their brevity, it’s tough to get a grip on specific tracks, but the ditzy “Lady Bug,” a frantic “Low Maintenance,” the tepid blues of the title track and several ambient instrumentals allow for intriguing encounters.
~ Lee Zimmerman
