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Cassorla - "Portrait of You"

December 6, 2010

little-videos.com

We met up with Ben, Brian and Ross on a Monday afternoon out in Eagle Rock at Ben's place. It was a particularly nice day, for what was a pretty altogether rainy December (at least, compared to what one would be accustomed to in Southern California). There'd actually been a bit of a hiatus filming new videos (due to a variety of factors including my relocation further east, working too much to pay the rent, moving to new cameras, etc), so coincidentally enough, Ben Cassorla makes an appearance in two sessions in a row (he plays keys and guitar in Gamble House).

With a lot of artists it's easy to nail a clever one liner on the head, like a "so-and-so meets so-and-so." Which is certainly not a bad thing; working within a familiar sound is an art all its own. But it's not so often you stumble upon something compelling that doesn't fall so neatly into that sort of classification. Sure, you might want to draw comparisons to someone like the Dirty Projectors, but Cassorla's whimsical songwriting, backed by skilled and thoughtful musicianship, is distinctly unique. The songs seem to effortlessly wind between hooks, bouncing drums, and sharp, accented guitar licks, while the poetic lyrics walk a line between weighty reflections and satire. Did I mention they're all really f'ing good at their instruments (note: Ross and a rad harmonica part on My Tree)?

Find out more about Cassorla at cassorla.bandcamp.com

Camera: Allen Kelley & Elliot Glass
Sound: Elliot Glass
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