There are certain artists that I gravitate to in confusing times because they ground me in sanity amidst insanity. They’re often outsiders, maligned and mischaracterized by culturally-acceptable mouthpieces, because the words and sounds they share with the world aim to strip the delusion from our minds. Cassels’ new single “Formaldehyde Time” just shot to the top of that playlist. The dissonant, jangling melodies speak to the onslaught of newspeak designed to point our attention in the right directions, the unpredictable rhythms invoke the manipulation of our fears and our survival instinct. The vocals are clear and cut straight through the noise, grounding me in the present. It’s their new single of their record Tracked In Mud that’s out March 7th via Human Worth — get it here. And besides getting a sick and timeless piece of vinyl in your collection, buying Tracked In Mud takes a step in the right direction, with 10% of all proceeds being donated to community food hub and distribution network The Hornbeam Centre.
This song was partly inspired by Donald Trump’s face. By how bizarre it is. Permanently orange, often contorted into unsettling expressions. It has an inhuman quality. Befitting for someone so well acquainted with the inhumane.
This got me thinking about the physical signifiers of westernised power, success, and wealth: faces pumped with plastic, teeth bleached with chemicals, bodies engorged with steroids and implants. All of these are designed communicate perfection. All are unnatural and horrific.
If these features were rendered as a landscape, how terrifying would that be? Very. JG Ballard could have probably written a whole book about it. We wrote a song about it.
– Jim Beck, vocals
