Casiotone For The Painfully Alone @ Bush Hall, London

Coming across like a sarcastic, gadget-obsessed Philip Seymour Hoffman joining Future Bible Heroes, shambolic unrock poet Owen Ashworth surveys the room with benign diffidence from behind a Professor Frink-esque pile of machines.

Probably well aware that half of his compositions barely feel like songs at all, his artlessly abrupt, power cut-style endings betray a certain lack of confidence.

Still, ‘Cold White Christmas’ and ‘Scattered Pearls’ are executed with the charm they deserve, and guest singer Jenny Herbinson’s goofball contributions only deepen the crowd’s evident affection.

Charlie Ivens

Originally published on the-fly.co.uk