Macclesfield Indie trio Cassia return with sun-soaked new album 'everyone, outside'!

Macclesfield trio Cassia are known for their sun-soaked summer anthems, consistently delivering, sunshine Indie-Pop vibes. Their third album ‘everyone, outside’ is confident and self-assured, the work of a band who have refined their sound and aren’t afraid to deliver. ‘everyone, outside’ is the collection of blissed-out tracks that sunny days have been crying out for. 

Photo Credit: Tabeah Berler

Talking on the sound of the new record, the band said: "We put everything into this, it’s our most honest, most soul-bearing work, but really energetic and it comes across great live. I think it’s the best thing we could have made so we’re just excited for people to ingest it. It was all written in the last year or so. In the past we’ve been in a position where it’s been a bit of a ‘what else can we put on it?’, because we were churning out EPs. So it’s been nice to have the time to make new stuff, and it feels like an honest representation of where we’re at. We also got a lot more into production, we’ve learnt a lot when we were doing the last album. We felt a lot more confident trying new stuff, so rather than being like ‘how the hell do we do this?’, the process was more about trying new things and experimenting".

The album opens strong with the title track. The afro-beats influences are clear in this album with the busy percussion doing the heavy lifting, driving the songs forwards and giving them some much-needed depth. ‘friends’ is a short but sweet stand out track, with a sound reminiscent of Foster the People, and the tropical vibes that Cassia does best. With lyrics like “It’s better for my calm to move the way the palms do” and “Whoever said the sun can’t soothe your troubles”, this song brings the summer vibes in lyrics as well as sonically.

Cassia, commented that this range of different sunny sonic influences from across the world was something key to the new album project:"We’ve had this goal for ages of trying to combine certain things, especially world music like Latin American, African rhythm stuff, but with really nice melodies. It’s actually really hard to do, often the drums are really busy and intense. And I think we’ve got the closest to it with this album, it’s taken us ages to get there".

‘antidote’ feels like a quintessential Cassia song, although the second half of the album is a little more complex and experimental. It’s easy to get lost in the sound, but there are some really vulnerable and honest moments in the lyrics, especially the line in 'forever' that says “I might not end up spending my forever with you”.  Closing track ‘reframe’ also stands out as an album highlight, with a punchier sound and some really amazing guitar. There’s a lot going on sonically in this song, making it one of the most complex on the album, without ever losing its uber-smooth production which the band worked on themselves.

In fact, a lot of the success of this record was born out of the trio being hands-on in every department: "Doing it ourselves means we can get it exactly how we want it, it’s not done until you think it’s done. Something we really don’t enjoy is trying to explain a musical idea or a feeling to someone, which means when someone else is working on your music it can be really frustrating because it’s so hard to articulate what you want. Whereas doing it ourselves, we can try different things until we get what we want. Doing it this way also means there’s no bullshit. You can go to these crazy studios with amazing producers, and just by being in that setting you feel like ‘God, everything we’re doing is amazing’. In LA with a big name producer you think you’re nailing it. But when it’s us doing it, we’re able to be a bit more critical, and think is this really good, is it really hitting. So it’s more honest and less glamorous. Plus everything sounds better in the sun, demos sound better in the sun. But it’s not sunny in Macclesfield, so if it’s hitting in Macclesfield, you know it’s good".

With a headline UK tour starting soon, we can’t wait to hear Cassia bring these tracks to life on stage - because if there’s one thing these songs do to perfection, it’s get everyone up and dancing.