Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Rarely does a band’s name perfectly sum up what it does. But Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s music is exactly as it sounds: songs about loneliness and heartbreak performed on Casiotone keyboards by Owen Ashworth, possibly the saddest man in the world. But these songs–with words such as “And the only things keeping me alive are your picture in my pocket and $1.45” (“Cold Shoulder”)–aren’t biographical. They’re concise, rhyming pictures of universal loss, like postcards of moments, be they missed chances, breakups or maudlin remembrances, all played on battery-operated old-school Casios.