The memory of my buddy Jon playing turning me onto Casiotone for the Painfully Alone in high school is a strong one. Or I think it is. Or he told me about the band. And I remember hearing “To My Mr. Smith”--the leadoff track from 2003’s Twinkle Echo–in all of its wonky, blown out glory. I certainly hadn’t heard anything like that up to that point in my nascent post-punk rock loyalist appreciation of indie rock, and it established my deep appreciation for Owen Ashworth’s music. On Twinkle Echo’s 2006 follow-up, Etiquette, the poor, lo-fi quality of previous Casiotone releases (which certainly had its charms) is replaced with a cleaner studio sound, and the songs were the best Ashworth had written up until that point. It was a perfect refinement, and a big reason why Etiquette is one of my favorite albums of the 2000s. After absorbing Etiquette and its follow-up--2009’s Vs. Children--coinciding with Ashworth renaming his project Advance Base, I lost touch. I’m not sure why that happened, and while I vaguely remember 2012’s A Shut-in’s Prayer, I was aghast to realize Ashworth had released two more Advance Base records before dropping 2019’s sublime Animal Companionship. Better late than never I suppose, and man oh man is this a great record. Ashworth has clearly been honing his songwriting in the intervening years, and the results are an album full of brilliant and touching lo-fi pop. The first two tracks in particular–“True Love Death Dream” and “Dolores & Kimberly”--are like a one-two punch of poignancy and a personal reminder for me to never sleep on Advance Base.
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