Events

[ELECTRONIC] Formerly known as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Advance Base is the musical project of Chicago’s Owen Ashworth. Ashworth’s keyboard-based character sketches aren’t uplifting, but his knack for capturing the despair he sees in others—as mirrored through his own depression—is as engaging as it is heartbreaking. There’s an overarching sense of stuck-ness permeating A Shut-Ins Prayer, which is mainly performed on a Rhodes 54 electric piano and was recorded in a secluded public library performance space. The disc made #19 on MOJO’s year-end list for 2012 and subsequent EPs have garnered additional accolades. This isn’t music for folks looking to party, but Ashworth’s very real ability to evoke an emotional response with his minimalist songs attests to his talent. Sometimes, there’s just no happy ending—and that’s okay. Advance Base comes to Sugar City, Friday, April 3.