Send "Castevet " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Absolutepunk |
 There's a dark Midwestern feel to The Echo and the Light. It's mature, invigorating and a step up from what we've previously heard from Castevet. It's also what we've previously come to love about Midwestern emo/punk in the past as well. There are urgent vocals, clean finger picking and driving guitars, and loose backseat drumming.There's plenty that kicks into overdrive on "Narrow Hallways," to kick things off in the right direction after "Six Parts Summer." The vocals are torn, angry and are aptly tuned to the fury of hardcore. It's like Tom Gabel went in the '80s D.C. direction, instead of hearkening the sweet tunes of Joe Strummer (that's not to be taken negatively by Twitter Tom). Things absolutely rip with "Lautrec," as feedback and gain start the quick march into some softer noodling, and then back into a reckoning drive. It's easily one of the best hardcore/punk tracks you'll hear this year, a tour de force into battle. The quick riffs of "Bike Notes" and lyrics "call to arms" of "Cities and Memory" are just pleasurable to the inner adolescent punk we once were....full text |
| Punknews |
| Castevet is a giving band. Last year they dropped Summer Fences, a heady bout of post-hardcore. A followup EP, The Echo & The Light, was due earlier this year, but more or less canceled because it wasn't awesome enough. After a limited pressing, it was pulled, re-recorded and given two bonus tracks, and now it’s finally ready for public consumption. Pumped up to eight tracks, Echo is a generous gift. In a lot of ways, Light feels like a continuation of Summer Fences. The band still sounds like a mix of Braid, Appleseed Cast, Envy, Latterman and Mogwai, which doesn’t seem like conflicting comparisons when Castevet is actually playing. The guitars are still noodly and unafraid to explore atmospheric areas not usually associated with Hot Water Music-esque bands, as seen on “Midwest Values” and “Cities & Memory.” At the same time, though, it definitely feels more aggressive than Summer Fences in places, again in reference to closing track “Cities & Memory,” but especially so on “Lautrec.” It’s an aggressive punk stomper the whole time, shredding faces like they’re delicious parmesan cheese [note to self: Do not write while hungry]. It’s also only 2:50, which is short for a Castevet song. New tunes “Six Parts Summer” and “Model Trains” fit in nicely with the old songs. “Model Trains” even gives the band a chance to jam out a little....full text |
| Sputnikmusic. |
| To many, emo is long gone: it was just a short fad in the late nineties and at the beginning of the new millennium. They see it as a scene that a few sweater vest clad 28-year olds lament over the faint sound of Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary. All the new bands, well, they’re just repackaging ten-year old ideas to a small group of angst-ridden teenagers, right? Think what you will, but emo is still alive and kicking, and who better to prove it than Chicago’s own Castevet. Released way back in 2009, Summer Fences, Castevet’s debut full-length, was quite the anomaly. There are not many times when you can find a new band with influences from so many sides of the spectrum that still manage to sound like seasoned veterans. Yet, Summer Fences was exactly that, and now Castevet have returned less than a year later with The Echo & the Light. Not much has changed since Summer Fences; in fact, The Echo & the Light is in many ways just a more refined, more condensed Summer Fences. Where Summer Fences was more drawn out and slow building in its beauty, The Echo & the Light manages to compress the same sound into a shorter and more to the point record. To some listeners, this less spacey and more condensed approach might take some of the enjoyment away, and to others, this approach will get it done and get it done faster. It really just depends on what you like. If you are inclined toward post-rock, you might feel on Summer Fences is where Castevet shines. If you are a person who likes faster, punkier music, than The Echo & the Light will be a change for the better. The Echo & the Light continues in Castevet’s mathy, start-stop, ever-changing emo sound that Summer Fences began. The guitar can be airy and ambient, but then quickly change to a heavier, punkier sound, and the riffs are plentiful in creativity and never sound recycled or predictable. The drumming is tighter than ever, and is one of the most stand-out performances on The Echo & the Light. Both the drums and the guitar can be easily described as creating a very math-rock sound. Vocally, the album is one that could easily survive instrumentally, but Castevet doesn’t slack in adding catchy but rough half screamed/half sung vocal melodies that would easily get under one’s skin if not for them being turned down significantly to just sound like another instrument....full text |
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