Cassyette – ‘This World Fucking Sucks’ review: compelling pop-metal fusion
Cassyette debuted a mere three years ago with ‘Dear Goth’, and since then has scored support slots with My Chemical Romance and Willow, not to mention a co-sign from Bring Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes. 2022’s ‘Sad Girl’ mixtape showcased Cassy Brooking’s penchant for combining tough nu-metal riffs with soaring emo melodies and poppier vocal delivery. The Essex-via-Brighton artist has put in the hours in both live rooms and online spaces, building a vocal fanbase and a sense that she could be the alt world’s next superstar.
Imaginative and powerful, ‘Sad Girl’ set the bar high, from Pink-esque vocal delivery on ‘Mayhem’ to one-minute screamo track ‘Die Hate Cry.’ Two years on, this same versatility runs through Cassyette’s debut album ‘This World Fucking Sucks’, albeit with the heaviness wound down just a notch: there’s more candid soul-searching here than mosh-pit calling cards. The album tracks her experience coming to terms with the pain of her father’s passing three years ago, and can help serve as a poignant vehicle for anyone coping with grief – look no further than the brave face she puts on in ‘Friends In Low Places’: “We tatted on a smile / ‘Cause we can never make up our minds.”
Pacing a 15-song LP is no simple task, and ‘This World Fucking Sucks’ can sound uneven. The opening title track is both haunting and minimalistic, priming the listener for an enormous follow-up. However, the slightly underwhelming one-two of ‘Say My Name’ and ‘Ipecac’ does not deliver the stadium-sized hooks and melodies hoped for. ‘Go!’ is far more impactful, its frenetic riff stealing the show alongside some outrageously high vocals.
The pounding techno of ‘Sex Metal’ and ‘Degenerette Nation’ make for disjointed outliers alongside more traditional Cassyette tracks ‘Sugar Rush’ and ‘When She Told Me’, which both turn sludgy guitar riffs into glorious chorus hooks. Here, these electronic experiments feel mismatched with the pop-metal sound that takes shape over the record; there’s too much intensity at play for them to function as mere interludes.
‘Four Leaf Clover’ and ‘Over It’ (which feels like another homage to Pink) help the record conclude with some improved momentum. ‘Untouched’ is a defiant closer, Cassyette declaring herself a survivor after the turmoil of the past few years: “I’m still here / You keep missing every time / I’m still untouched”. The record ends with a showcase of the emotional power of Cassyette’s voice, which still feels like a breath of fresh air in the alternative sphere and will stand her in good stead as she continues to establish her sound.
Details:
- Release date: August 23, 2024
- Record label: 23 Recordings
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Rishi Shah
NME
