Aspersions - Cast Off (CD)

Release Date: 10/07/22

Melancholic & melodic jangly pop with layered guitars & soft vocals from ex-Musical Chairs / RIYL: Trembling Blue Stars, Luna

After 15 years away, we were thrilled to reintroduce the almost-forgotten ”90s indiepop group, Musical Chairs, to the world in 2013 via ”Retraced: 1992-1999”, a 32-track collection of their singles, compilation appearances and other odds & ends not on their sole album, ”Wits” End”. While compiling that, the band”s leader, Ian Schlein, informed me that new recordings were in the works, and that we could work together on a new album soon. Well, after nine years, a few false starts and delays (on both sides) and a band name change, here at last is the official debut album from the Aspersions (or the unofficial second album from Musical Chairs – just don”t tell Ian I said that). This time entirely recorded by Ian alone (hence the new name), this album unsurprisingly sounds similar to his past work: melancholic & melodic jangly pop with layered acoustic & electric guitars and soft vocals (which are also usually layered) that sounds like a melding of Bobby Wratten & Dean Wareham. It”s summer as I write this, but once autumn arrives, this will be the perfect soundtrack!