French Cassettes singer and songwriter Scott Huerta was living beneath a stairwell in San Francisco, CA (cramped, but only $200 a month) when he wrote what would become his band's sophomore LP, Rolodex. "I adopted the mentality, which was probably unhealthy, that every song I wrote needed to be my favorite song," he remembers. "I lost my mind so many times in the middle of the night."
The eight tracks and 24 minutes of Rolodex are an epic statement of purpose in a decidedly taut package; hook-filled and rooted in pop, layered with intricate vocals and counter-harmonies, inventive percussion, and every shade of clean and fuzzy guitars stacked up like an orchestra. French Cassettes will release Rolodex on December 11 via Tender Loving Empire + today shared the video for the "disco-infused, power-pop, shimmering indie thrasher" (BreakThru Radio) "Utah" to announce the album that's been eight years in the making.
"I watched a video of Bill Withers sweating out a tune in a turtleneck and that image just stayed in my mind," says Huerta. "So this song is what I imagined a young Bill would sing to himself on a solo road trip to Utah in a FIAT Spider with nothing packed but a backup turtleneck. All we know about this guy is he just 'needs to go fast'. Where to? No one knows... maybe Utah."
Texas filmmaker Vanessa Pla and the band took their vision to the next level for this video. Why not actually go to Utah? So they managed to buy a 1981 Spider Fiat from an eccentric car lover named Dan, hoping that the car was as in good of shape as promised. "Unfortunately, Fiat really stands for Fix It Again Tony," said Pla. "We learned more about car engines than expected and surrendered to the vast beauty of Utah's landscapes. It was an incredible adventure and we thankfully made it back safe."
