Casiotone for the Painfully Alone may be an unusual name for a band, but it makes sense: basically a solo project by Owen Ashworth, the band uses mostly battery powered keyboards and electronics recorded on a four track. The results on his first three albums were intimate, ethereal electronic pop songs.

On the most recent disc, “Etiquette,” Ashworth decided to expand his sound to include guitars, strings, pianos and so on, especially on songs like “Bobby Malone Moves Home” and “Cold White Christmas.” While some tracks remain almost entirely electronic, like “Young Shields,” others use the new instruments to great effect, such as the steel guitar on “Nashville Parthenon.”

CFTPA’s second tour with a full band comes to The Red and The Black Friday, and Ashworth’s backing band is San Diego’s The Donkeys. We expect the results to sound more like Ashworth and The Donkeys’ set for music blog Daytrotter, which recorded them together. The songs have more of a country tinge while Ashworth’s voice sounds more like Craig Finn from The Hold Steady.

Joining Ashworth on tour is Jenny Herbinson, vocalist on a number of songs and openers The Methamphetamines.

We conducted an interview with Ashworth over email a few days ago about D.C., his musical plans, and genres, which is after the jump: