The French Cassettes, an indie-pop band from the San Fransisco Bay Area, are preparing to release music for the first time in almost a year. Credit: Lance Bangs
It’s been almost three years since indie-pop quartet French Cassettes released its last album, and the band is ready to get back to making music.
The San Francisco-born band — comprised of singer and lead guitarist Lorenzo “Scott” Huerta, drummer Rob Mills, bassist Thomas Huerta and Mackenzie Bunch on keys and guitar — is preparing to release its upcoming single “Medium Horny” Tuesday, which will lead the group into its fall tour, with a stop in Columbus Oct. 2.
The band’s soon-to-be-released single comes from its upcoming album, which Scott Huerta said he hopes will be ready for a 2024 release.
“I’m just so excited about this new batch of songs that we worked super hard on,” Scott Huerta said. “I’m excited to be playing them live.”
Scott Huerta said Bunch typically engineers the band’s music, but this album involved a collaboration with Nick Krill — renowned music mixer, engineer and producer –- to help mix the songs.
Krill, who has worked with artists like The War on Drugs and Generationals, said he discovered French Cassettes earlier this year and knew he wanted to work with the band.
“I had sent them a message saying that I loved their records and would love to collaborate,” Krill said. “Then a month or two later, they hit me up and were like, ‘Oh, we were looking into working with you.’”
Krill said the standard approach to the record-making process involves several different stages. The band begins by writing the music and working on arrangements, then subsequently visits a studio to work on recording and mixing the songs, he said.
“In the studio, you might have guitar, bass, drums and keyboards be separated out in a way, and you can adjust each sound independently,” Krill said. “Where I come in is in the mixing phase, where they had been in the studio and recorded the song, and my job is to take their work and do a balance and give a different perspective.”
Krill said while listening to the tracks from French Cassettes for the first time, it was apparent the band had a distinct vision for its songs, and that it was amazing to get the opportunity to help the group bring that vision to life.
“There is a beautiful thing that happens when a band’s directions and a mixer’s come together,” Krill said. “I just hoped that I could tap into their vision and present it in the most beautiful way possible.”
Scott Huerta said the band’s upcoming tour will bring them to Columbus for the first time ever, where they will headline at Ace of Cups Oct. 2.
“We are going to a lot of cities that we have never been before,” Scott Huerta said. “Columbus is one of the cities that we are excited to see.”
The doors for the show open at 7 p.m., with general admission tickets priced at $15.
More information about French Cassettes’ Columbus concert can be found on Ace of Cups’ website.
This story was updated 5:55 p.m. Sept. 19 to account for the new French Cassettes drummer, Rob Mills.
