Any album with a name as absurd and out there as ‘The Cassoway Manifesto’ is bound to have a whole host of little eccentricities embedded within. Tyler Kamen’s eight official release is a whole lot of fun, particularly for its surrealist instrumentation work that me postulate a unique combination of Rush and Jethro Tull. The rather larger than life topics, which often veer into the strange and unbelievable, definitely find some inspiration from Ian Anderson’s lyricism. Even some of the arrangements and compositions, occasionally haphazard and frenetic, sound straight out of a Jethro Tull piece. For an avid lover of psychedelic rock like myself, it was an absolute pleasure to play through.
Few bands today are actively trying to make psychedelic rock interesting, while still retaining the core essence from its heyday. Sure, King Gizzard does do a marvellous job, but there are few and far between like them. That was, of course, until I came across Tyler Kamen. Songs like ‘Pandemonium’ and the titular track are exactly the kind of psychedelic rock that I adore, infused with a host of different sections that each have their own identity. There’s an urgency on this record, a desperation that’s evoked on each track. ‘Pandemonium’ in particular sounds very inspired from a Jethro Tull record, my favourite band.
The record is an adventure album, one that has a distinct story within it. “A sequel to “Mr. Loon and His Spectacular Machine”, this album focuses on Mrs. Trinket as the main character. She loses her prized cassowary and must rescue it from Snafu the Poacher’s Animal Sanitarium with the help of some familiar faces.”
There are particular highlights most rock fans would adore, the afore mentioned ‘Pandemonium’ being most notable amongst them. But ‘Seeds’ is another immediate winner for me, a much more hard rock inspired piece that gets you really into the album’s vigour. By my account, ‘The Cassoway Manifesto’, is an album to be heard as an experience. You don’t just put it on and pick a few songs hear and there, you’re meant to play it in its entirety. And, for that specific goal, it makes itself immensely interesting and surprising to make it well worth your time.
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