Cassorla is your new favorite t-Shirt

by Michael Glader

As a guitar geek, my ears constantly peruse through old tracks and new searching for interesting sounds. When I find something that stands out to me, I store it away in my head, wonder how the artist did it, and try to replicate it later on. It’s not easy to create a compelling guitar sound, but I feel as though Cassorla has achieved it, and I am jealous.

It all makes sense though. Ben Cassorla has played guitar on tour with the likes of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros and Washed Out. Simply put, he’s a musician’s musician and these are my favorite types of musicians.

Calling LA home, Ben Cassorla is new to the front-man game. Releasing his debut, Amigos, just last year in 2014, Ben Cassorla is garnering a lot of much deserved attention for his new EP, The Right Way. Teaming up with producer, Mighty Mike, (Carly Rae Jepsen and Kelly Clarkson) there’s an obvious pop-production sensibility to it. There’s predictability in the way the electronic beats are arranged and the way the bass samples are dropped in, but what keeps the listener interested is the simplicity in its dynamics. Incorporating a raw guitar tone, clean piano, electronic beats and upfront vocals, the EP doesn’t really offer too many sounds, and it doesn’t really have to. Each element is intelligently placed and creates a lot of space. There’s a lot of breathing room on the tracks and when a simple guitar strum comes in, it really feels a lot bigger.

Cassorla’s beauty in dynamics is the beauty of your favorite worn out t-shirt. It’s simple, it doesn’t shout for your attention, it always fits well, and looks endlessly cool. You can’t go wrong wearing your favorite worn-in t-shirt.

My favorite track on The Right Way is “Our Power.” Vocals punching through more noticeably on this track, Cassorla’s voice sounds most sincere. Again, incredibly dynamic, there’s just a hint of melodic guitar lines, little percussive, production frills and the honest, vocal performance. “Our Power” hits me the hardest because it also stands out as the most different on the EP.

Wherever Cassorla is, show your support and see them live. When you’re there, you can also let me know how he gets that guitar tone I like so much.