2004, Tomlab

Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars continues in Ashworth's tradition of using battery powered electronics and voice to create his tiny, tragic love songs. Several of the tracks also feature live cello and drum accompaniment to Ashworth's mInimalist electronic arrangements. The songwriting, production, and even Ashworth's singing voice are more confident and ambitious than on his first album Answering Machine Music, making Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars a smart, original, and surprising pop album, maybe the best battery-powered pop record you've ever heard