- Casper and the Cookies’ Kay Stanton (from left), Jason NeSmith and Jim Hix
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by John Thomason
The genre of indie pop is many things — sweet, cuddly, catchy, simple, retro. But one thing it certainly isn’t is epic.
Indie pop is the sound of springs and summers, with most albums clocking in at about 40 minutes, perfect for beach outings, cleanings and short drives. By contrast, double albums, whether from the likes of Pink Floyd, Miles Davis or Hüsker Dü, tend to evoke fall and winter. They’re sprawling affairs best absorbed in their entirety, huddled around a turntable, escaping the bitter cold.
But eccentric Athens, Ga., indie-poppers Casper and the Cookies shatter conventional wisdom. The group — featuring singer-guitarist Jason NeSmith; his wife and bassist, Kay Stanton; multi-instrumentalist Jim Hix; and drummer Gregory Sanders — will play Propaganda in Lake Worth Saturday to promote its third full-length release, 2009’s Modern Silence. The 18-track, 70-minute opus, which concerns lobotomies, aliens, larvae, bees, flowers and a fictitious jazz-mime, could only come from the city that produced the B-52’s. The album concludes with a 15-minute instrumental track composed of 35 guest musicians, including Apples in Stereo’s Robert Schneider and Olivia Tremor Control’s Bill Doss.
“We didn’t necessarily come into it thinking it would be so grand,” NeSmith says. “Our method was to record everything and see what survives. The more we recorded, the more we realized we did not want to make two records or one short record that would satisfy us. So, in a fit of gluttony, we just decided it was all in. It was maybe a foolish decision, financially speaking, because it scared some people away.”
“Some people” includes indie-rock kingmaking Web site Pitchfork.com, whose tepid 5.4 review (that’s out of 10) accused the band of overstaying its welcome. Whatever. Modern Silence is a great album, careening schizophrenically from blistering Public Image Ltd./Wire-style post-punk (“Pete Erchick Bicentennial Service Area”) to synth-propelled balladry (“Song Across the Sea”), radio-ready ’80s power-pop (“Meredith”) and anthemic gospel (“Sunshine Girl”).
“It’s kind of our MO,” NeSmith says about the album’s many directions. “My favorite records were always the ones that jumped around a lot. I’ve never felt satisfied with playing the same song 12 times over and calling it the album. One day, I’d like to take on the challenge of creating a full-length album that does have a sonic and thematic consistency and an arranging consistency, as well, to make it sound of a piece. I just have to get this behind me first.”
The group is known for its quirkiness, both in terms of lyrical content and stage presence. NeSmith has donned gaudy fake eyelashes for some of the band’s glam-lite shows, and Hix always brings unbridled, over-the-top exuberance to his guitar- and keyboard-playing.
“I think what we do onstage that I don’t see everybody do is just have fun,” NeSmith says. “There’s a time and place for the cerebral and a time and a place for fun. We’re up there, why not enjoy it?”
Although NeSmith is an important member of the Athens scene — appearing with and remixing numerous area bands, operating one of the city’s recording studios and performing alongside Daniel Johnston for the cult troubadour’s legendary 2007 appearance there — he acknowledges that Casper and the Cookies face the constant challenge of being pigeonholed as a jokey band.
“We’re flirting with danger,” he says. “We have a stupid name and people can write us off easily. But you gotta do what you gotta do, and whether some hipster thinks you’re cool or not — fuck it.”
Casper and the Cookies will perform 9 p.m. Saturday, March 13 at Propaganda, 6 S. J St., in Lake Worth. Sweet Bronco, the Jameses and Love Handles will open the show. Call 561-547-7273 or visit Propagandalw.com.
Contact John Thomason at jpthomason@tribune.com.
