The Cassettes

Distinct from a British indie act sharing the moniker, the Washington, D.C.-based Cassettes produce vibrant rock songs colored by psychedelic hues and garage-rock intensity. Shelby Cinca first shaped the project through four-track experiments that diverged from the raw, angst-driven style of his louder band, Frodus. During 1999 he joined forces with longtime high-school acquaintance Steve Kille, bassist for Dead Meadow, and the pair began composing material drawn from their parents’ record collections. Kille’s girlfriend Jennifer Potter was then brought in on second guitar and backing vocals, with Stephen McCarty added on drums, allowing the ensemble to enter the studio for its first full-length release. Shortly after that debut appeared and mere months ahead of the follow-up O’er the Mountain, Kille, Potter, and McCarty all exited the group. Operating alone, Cinca reached out to tabla player Saadat Awan, who had signaled interest in a collaboration several years earlier. Drawing from Beatles tracks such as “Honey Pie” and “Rocky Raccoon,” Cinca opted for a thorough sonic reinvention. The 2003 arrival of Stephen Guidry on accordion and Arthur Harrison on Theremin shifted the Cassettes away from bright power-pop toward dense, country-tinged psychedelic rock. Three years afterward they issued their third album, ’Neath the Pale Moon.