Photo: David S. Holloway

Shelby Cinca is a longtime fixture in this town, going back to the early 90s with his days with the noisy post-punks in Frodus. Following that band’s 1999 breakup, Cinca played with Fugazi’s Joe Lally in Decahedron, and then formed a whole slew of other bands, the most well-known of which is probably The Cassettes. With The Cassettes, Cinca shifted gears away from the sound and fury of many of his previous bands toward a rootsier tone that owed heavily to classic rock in its early days, and has moved more heavily into folk-influenced territory since a significant lineup shift 5 years ago.

Yet for all the “traditional” influences, The Cassettes remain somewhat difficult to categorize, committed as they are to stretching the boundaries of those forebears, combining guitars with theremin with tabla in unpredictable ways. With their latest recording, Countach, the band defies expectations once again, by releasing the record as a cassette. If you’ve already ditched your tape deck, don’t worry, digital download is included. Few bands are as well suited to such a blend of the past and the future; The Cassettes pull it off with a wink, a nod, and some really great tunes.

Find them online: thecassettes.com

See them live:: At the Black Cat November 22 with These United States, and December 6 at the legendary Kansas House in Arlington.