Advance Base explores human condition on Animal Companionship

Owen Ashworth’s albums have always been about the human condition, and his latest is no exception. That may sound strange, given that it’s called Animal Companionship, but it’s as human as anything he’s done before.
After hearing problems forced the end of his electronic pop project Casiotone for the Painfully Alone in 2010, Ashworth started making quieter music as Advance Base, releasing A Shut-In’s Prayer in 2012, Nephew In The Wild in 2015 and a slew of tapes and 7-inch EPs in between. After releasing a 2016 live album, In Bloomington, the prodigious songwriter shifted his focus to his label, Orindal Records, and put his efforts into helping other artists release their music.
This break from songwriting gave him time to explore not just how he makes music, but why he’s driven to do so. The meditative nature of Ashworth’s new songwriting process can be heard in Animal Companionship‘s spacious arrangements. Blissful drones and lush synthesizer textures envelop soft electric piano arpeggiations and spare drum programming, creating an almost hypnotic backdrop for Ashworth’s lyrical narratives. And the lyrics themselves have found a new focus: dogs.
Unlike the previous Advance Base albums, which were made at home on Ashworth’s trusty four-track tape machine, Animal Companionship was mostly recorded at Palmetto Studios in Los Angeles with Ashworth’s old friend and former Casiotone for the Painfully Alone collaborator Jason Quever. Animal Companionship still sounds like Ashworth, but Quever’s production adds more depth and clarity than you’ve ever heard from an Advance Base or Casiotone album.
Catch him on tour here:
7/26 Chicago, IL @ The Hideout *
9/23 Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s Locker Room *
9/24 Toronto, ON @ The Baby G *
9/25 Rochester, NY @ Small World Books *
9/26 Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right *
9/27 Cambridge, MA @ Atwood’s Tavern *
9/28 Portland, ME @ Apohadion Theater *
9/29 Burlington, VT @ Light Club Lamp Shop *
9/30 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB *
10/1 Greenfield, MA @ Root Cellar Bar *
10/2 Kingston, NY @ BSP *
10/3 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA *%
10/4 Washington, DC @ Studio Ga Ga *
10/5 Charlottesville, VA @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar *
10/7 Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon Street *
10/17 Chicago, IL @ The Hideout
10/18 Iowa City, IA @ PS1
10/19 Omaha, NE @ O’Leavers
10/20 Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag
10/21 Fargo, ND @ Aquarium
10/22 Winnipeg, MB @ The Handsome Daughter
10/23 Grand Forks, ND @ Ojata Records
10/24 Duluth, MN @ Red Herring
10/25 Minneapolis, MN @ The Warming House
10/26 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
11/8 Louisville, KY @ Surface Noise Records
11/10 Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light
11/11 Durham, NC @ The Pinhook <
11/12 Greenville, SC @ Cabin Floor Records
11/13 Athens, GA @ The World Famous
11/15 Lafayette, LA @ Artmosphere
11/16 Galveston, TX @ GAR <
11/17 Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas <
11/18 Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf <
11/21 St Louis, MO @ Foam
12/6 Vancouver, BC @ Wise Lounge >
12/7 Seattle, WA @ Barboza >
12/8 Anacortes, WA @ Kennelly Keys >
12/9 Portland, OR @ Turn Turn Turn >
12/11 San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah >$
12/12 Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater >
12/14 Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole >?
12/17 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive >?
* w/ Gia Margaret
% w/ Friendship
< w/ Moon Racer
> w/ Lisa/Liza
$ w/ Stephen Steinbrink
? w/ Karima Walker