Lazy Monday. As promised like, ages ago, and per some requests, I'm totally gonna start writing about some of the bands and albums that we here at TRGAW are excited about in 2006. As a matter of fact, I think I heard the first great record of the year this weekend, but I don't want to jinx it and I don't think I'm ready to post about it quite yet.

So, first up is Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. I've been a long-time fan of Owen Ashworth's dour ouevre (obvious influenes are the lo-fi eras of both The Magnetic Fields and The Mountain Goats), and his latest album, Etiquette, due out in March from Tomlab, is full of his signature gloomy piano-based, Tom Waits-ish tracks and gloomy little narratives underscored by the icy beats of yes, his myriad of hotrodded Casio synthesizers. Some of the best tracks on the album, including "Holly Hobby (version)" and "Grandmother's Pearls," feature guest vocals by Dear Nora's Katy Davidson, who toured with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone in the Fall of 2005.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone -- Don't They Have Payphones Where You Wherever You Were Last Night
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone -- Scattered Pearls

Buy Casiotone for the Painfully Alone's albums and EPs at Insound.