No matter how hard I try, I still find myself behind the curve sometimes when it comes to the Asheville music scene. So I have to be honest when I tell you that the first time I heard about The Cheeksters was at POPAsheville last month. I kept hearing rave reviews about the band – Mark Casson and Shannon Hines Casson – and asking why I hadn’t heard of these guys before.
Then, out of the blue, Shannon sent me The Cheeksters latest album, out at the end of last year, Movers and Shakers. I gave it a listen – several listens – and thoroughly enjoyed the unfettered popishness, the David Bowie-esque vibe. All of it so smooth, so fun. And these guys are in Ashvegas?!? Damn.
You can see the Cheeksters Friday at the Rocket Club. In fact, you need to see this band.
I let all the others who have been writing about The Cheeksters explain it more eloquently:
The Mountain Xpress’ Alli Marshall:
Movers is Britpop inspired by the rock and soul groups that the Cassons loved while growing up on separate sides of the Atlantic (Shannon is from Memphis). With sleek production, jangly guitars and plenty of hooks, it’s hardly a reach to peg the Cheeksters as a throwback group—but heirloom rock is not what they’re about.
“It’s dangerous to try and pigeonhole oneself,” Mark notes. “I’m from Britain, so it’s easy to say ‘retro British.’ But we didn’t set out to make a retro album.”
In fact, Movers quickly reveals its modern sensibilities, with jazz-tinged flugelhorn, atmospheric cello and funky Wurlitzer. Mark’s vocals are often sized up as Bowie-reminiscent, but his range allows for soaring falsetto and almost menacing tenor (both within a few measures on the track, “One Time”).
And just because the Cheeksters make a definite departure from the self-obsessed shoegazing that fills listening-room calendars doesn’t mean they lack crucial musicianship.
“We wanted to make a record that’s fun,” Mark says. “I think to be able to sing and dance along to it is a big part of it.”
The Nashville Scene, in a “critic’s pick, says this:
Sounding like reanimated Zombies on their new Movers and Shakers, former Nashville songwriter-frontman Mark Casson and bassist-vocalist Shannon Hines Casson collapse their voluminous record collection into 10 unabashedly groovy songs whose sonic DNA tangles strands of R&B, glam, Britpop and bubblegum.
Under multi-instrumentalist bandmate Brent Little’s kitchen-sink-plus production, growling Stevie Wonder clavinet duels with Burt Bacharach flugelhorn (“The Top of the Tree”), burbling “Pale Blue Eyes” guitar does the shimmy with girl-group bounce and hand claps (“Love Hearts in My Eyes”) and Mark Casson’s Ziggy-esque vocals reverberate over Peter Hyrka’s sweeping Moody Blues strings (“Waiting in the Wings”).
The effect is ultimately more celebratory than derivative—how could you not love a whistled chorus, whatever its pop provenance?
And this blog, AbsolutePowerPop, has this to say:
The Cheeksters are the Asheville, NC duo of Mark Casson and Shannon Hines, and this is (by my count) their fifth disc. Casson is originally from England and he brings a natural British pop sensibility to their work, which is apparent off the bat with the infectious “What The Pretty Girl Did”, a kind of Kinks-meet-Merseyside bouncy number. The ragtime-y title track follows and continues the disc’s appeal. Other standouts include “The Top of the Tree”, in which Casson channels Gilbert O’Sullivan; the anthemic “Waiting in the Wings”, swelling strings and all; and “Love Hearts In My Eyes”, in which Hines contributes a sultry vocal over a winning indie pop beat.
More links:
www.cheeksters.com
www.myspace.com/cheeksters
www.theopeningacts.blogspot.com
www.thedailytimes.com
www.knoxvillenews.com