Pas/Cal | “You Were Too Old for Me”

It’s been years since I watched Casimer and the rest of Pas/Cal ply their trade live, but that last performance still stands as the absolute finest concert I have ever seen any band give. Period. If you think their songs are fantastical, alternately exploding and imploding marvels of pop subversion, just imagine what it’s like to see these songs rendered in 3-D glory, with all the sweat and theatricality these deceptively sugar-coated morsels suggest.

Your typical Pas/Cal composition is a workout–musically, vocally, structurally–and “You Were Too Old for Me,” the first glimpse at what will finally mark the band’s premiere full-length record (I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura, due out July 22nd), is nothing short of a triathlon. It isn’t so much a song as a symphony in miniature, with various movements that swoop in and sweep out, sometimes staggeringly so but always with a genius that is too obvious to deny. It is a seven course meal: the dishes whiz by and you jab your fork out to try to chew another tasty bite before the next plate arrives. The main difference here is that there is always room for seconds.