It wasn’t too long ago that I featured a song by Northstar, the former band of Nick Torres. Yes, I’m in love with his songwriting and voice– I’m won’t deny it! Torres’ current band Cassino recently announced that their second LP Kingprince is going to be pressed on vinyl, so I’ve been on Cassino kick for the past few weeks. (As of right now, there are a handful of black vinyl left over at Collective Confusion Records. I definitely jumped at the clear vinyl when it was available!) On the double LP will be the EP of B-sides, The Weight of Bother, which includes a full-band version of this week’s song, “Tin Man’s Throne.”
Originally on their first album, Sounds of Salvations, “Tin Man’s Throne” is a quickly wrought acoustic piece wedged between the upbeat “New Jerusalem” and the plaintive “Platano.” The lyrics play like an elegy, melancholic and regretful; however, the music doesn’t really allow it to fall into a heavy wretchedness. Instrumentally, it just feels very earnest. The notes move steadily, layering to create a beautifully rich tone.
Most days I prefer this version over the full-band one, but the vocals in the latter have such a sharp emotional weariness… don’t make me choose.
(Also, there’s something to be said when, in getting back in the swing of things, one chooses a song that coincidentally shares an identical reference to previous written admission. Hmm. It was a happy accident, I swear!)
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