Cause & Effect

Cause & Effect

Cause & Effect is an American synthpop and electronic group from Sacramento, California. The act starts in 1988 and is active from 1990 onwards, with Rob Rowe as the remaining listed member and Keith Milo as a key collaborator in the later line-up. The name also appears with the spelling Cause and Effect.

Sound and style

The band works in electronic pop, combining layered synthesiser textures, acoustic rhythmic details and melodic vocals. Its songs often sit between dance-pop, synthpop and more reflective material, and the lyrics are frequently described in terms of thoughtfulness and emotional directness. The group does not stay within a single genre and moves between club-oriented tracks, electro-acoustic ballads and darker, more brooding songs.

History

Cause & Effect begins in Sacramento, California, with Robert Rowe and Sean Rowley. Its debut album, Another Minute, arrives in the early 1990s and produces two top ten dance-pop singles, including “You Think You Know Her”, which also reaches the Billboard top 20 singles chart. After Sean Rowley dies in late 1992, Rowe steps back to reassess the project. A tribute performance at the KROQ Acoustic Christmas Show in Los Angeles becomes a turning point, leading Rowe to continue the band.

Rowe then brings in Keith Milo, an Orange County electronic musician, to finish a tour with Rowe and drummer Rich Shepherd. The group records its second album, Trip, in London with producer Martyn Phillips, known for work with Beloved, Erasure and Jesus Jones. That album includes “It’s Over Now”, a crossover club track that reaches number 7 on Billboard’s modern rock chart and becomes the band’s fourth release to enter the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

After Zoo Entertainment suffers financial problems and folds after parent company BMG Music withdraws funding and distribution, the band does not seek another major-label deal. Instead, it creates a website and launches Liquefaction Records, adopting a more independent release approach. Innermost Station follows as the third album, with “World Is Ours” becoming a favourite among fans and college radio programmers.

Rich Shepherd later leaves the group. The next recording phase produces The Sunrise EP, shaped by laid-back underground grooves. Its lead single, “Into the Light”, becomes the band’s fifth Billboard club-chart single, reaching number 20 in summer 2004. The EP also includes “Stay”, which becomes a fan favourite. The band tours the United States and South America in support of the release.

Later releases

In 2010, Cause & Effect works as a duo with Rowe and Milo and releases Artificial Construct in parts rather than as a standard full-length album. The project is issued as a three-part series of EPs on Liquefaction Records, with “HAPPY?” leading the release cycle. The material includes “View of the Sea”, “This Is who I Am” and “Sleep”, and the second part includes “Happiness Is Alien”.

Discography highlights

The band’s release history includes the self-titled Cause & Effect album, “What Do You See”, “You Think You Know Her”, Another Minute, Trip, Innermost Station, The Sunrise EP, Artificial Construct Part One, Artificial Construct Part Two and Artificial Construct Part Three, along with several singles, remixes and digital reissues across Nastymix Records, Sedona Recording Company, Zoo Entertainment, BMG Music, Exile Records, Jarrett Records and Liquefaction Records.