Left Cassette On Brit-Rock, Heartbreak, & How They’re ‘Always Kinda Late’

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Left Cassette are a UK-based band - after all, they fit the Brit-rock genre to a tee. They are also, admittedly, from the UK. But we’ve got them right here, in Brisbane. 

Lucky for us, they dropped their latest track, Always Kinda Late, today. Written about frontman Josh Aldred’s ill-fated trip back home with a girlfriend (who then decided she wouldn’t return to Australia), the track is a whirlwind of nostalgia and heartbreak, with upbeat grooves, gritty rhythms and vibrant leads.

And, to celebrate the release of Always Kinda Late, Aldred is taking us at The Music through the Brit-rock bands that influence Left Cassette’s music the most.

1. The Wombats - specifically the first two albums

They were my first gig. I’d just started high school and joined my first band and we were obsessed with them. The energy and rawness of that first album still captivates me today, and it was so so relatable as a young musician finding their feet in the world and going through all the weird preteen stuff that comes with the beginning of high school. It helped me navigate a lot, and the energy on that album has informed what I’ve been chasing in my own music ever since.

2. Catfish and the Bottlemen

I remember I must have been about 13 or 14 when my Auntie Kim showed me this band and they turned my world upside down and inside out in all the right ways. At the time, everybody seemed to be thinking outside the box and they (very proudly) stayed right inside of it. Everything they did sounded massive. They were genuine, they got stuck in your head and they made you feel a lot. For me, they were the real deal, and still are. I would try and figure out what pedals Van McCann used. I got the skinny jeans, the Chelsea boots, the whole ‘only wearing black and white’ thing. I was 100% all in. Every interview they ever did, I would watch. I studied them harder than I ever did at school. And so they are and always will be a massive influence to me musically, as well as their incredible energy on stage. I saw them in 2014 on their tour for their first album, I would have been 15 or 16, it was a tiny 200 capacity venue in Stoke, just before I moved to Australia, and I was completely captivated by the energy they were radiating. They blew that little room off its hinges and that’s all I’ve ever wanted from live music since. Plus Van is from my hometown of Widnes so I’ve always had a special affinity to him for that too. Widnes Widnes.

3. Circa Waves

These guys are another local band for me from Liverpool. They were the last band I saw live with my mates before I moved to Australia in 2015, so that was special. They were like the perfect mix of The Beatles and The Strokes, The Beatles being my favourite band ever and The Strokes a very close second. I love their use of 1960’s pop devices in such a modern way. Super choppy trebly guitars, catchy hooks, simple yet tasteful harmonies. Everything that’s good about early 00’s UK guitar music that I’ve always loved, for my generation of musicians.

4. Bombay Bicycle Club’s first album 

Another staple piece of that early 00’s guitar music invasion. Again, huge huge sounding. Their use of dynamics was particularly captivating to me and still is. A particular example would be the huge interlude in Lamplight. I’ll forever try to and fail to capture its brilliance.

5. Viola Beach 

They were from a town right outside mine called Warrington in North West England and something for us young kids to look up to. Local legends. When I moved to Australia, not a lot of people knew of them, and when I met our guitarist Trent in 2015, we bonded over our love for them and I was so excited. They had it all. Energy, story telling, the perfect melodies that would get stuck in your head all day. Again, they embodied everything I loved about guitar music and I’m gutted they aren’t around anymore. RIP, absolute legends.

Left Cassette’s latest single ‘Always Kinda Late’, is out now on all streaming platforms.