Our crowded music community is filled with artists who are far too underrated for their own good. But such is the way sometimes, as critical acclaim does not always translate into sales, for better or worse.

A few of those such artists, like Mark Kozelek in his various incarnations, Daniel Johnston or Laura Nyro, seem destined to be ignored by the mainstream, while others, such as Wilco, eventually succeed by breaking through the glass ceiling of stardom, even if it takes them a decade or so of releasing albums to do so.

One performer who is criminally underrated despite over a decade of solid releases is Owen Ashworth, who calls himself Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. Originally from Redwood City, California and now based in Chicago, the Tomlab signed artist has release a steady slew of lovely music, but unfortunately remains under the radar. In London, instead of playing to several thousand, he remains a sort of indie-scene secret, frequenting dive bars in Dalston instead of theatres in the centre of town [Watch it - there’s nothing wrong with Dalston, mate - Ed]. Although he has performed with a variety of artists in the past, Ashworth's core line-up on tour is a few old keyboards, a drum machine and vocal mic.

In the flesh he sings and performs alone, weaving melodies together through samples, pre-recorded blips and bleeps and plaintive vocal lines. But it is the combination of live setting and album that makes Casiotone for the Painfully Alone so deserving of more attention.

The best place to start is Ashworth's last effort, a delightful set of oddball pop released earlier this year, titled Vs. Children. It was recorded with members of another underrated pop band, The Donkeys, and features some of Ashworth's best songwriting to date. It's quirky and eccentric, but beneath the keyboard pops and 80s influenced Casio beats, remarkably simple and loveable, akin to some of the best work by The Russian Futurists, the Shout Out Louds or Caribou.

"To be honest, I wanted to make a more album-y sounding album than my previous albums," affirms Ashworth. "I wanted there to be strong musical themes, just as much as there are strong lyrical themes. I also wanted to make an album that didn't sound like 2009. I avoided talking about anything too gadgety or specific to now-a-days, in hopes that the songs could feel relevant through different eras and generations."

And as such, Vs. Children lilts between anachronistic early 80s beats, mid 90s college pop and more modern, asymmetrical indie, creating a listen that unveils more from Ashworth than any other listen previously had. "There are lots of themes on the record," adds Ashworth. "To start, there is crime, family, pregnancy, religion, guilt, death, alcohol, the American Midwest, distance, cars and a few others. The first song that I wrote for the album was ‘Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm’, and in a lot of ways, that song defined the themes of the album. I just had to figure out ten more ways to say the same thing, essentially. Plus, I think it was affected by how we recorded it.

"For the most part, the album was recorded over three or four different trips to San Francisco, and countless hours at home, working with my cassette 4-track and computer. The whole thing took about a year and a half, in between tours and other recording projects. I didn't have any outside financing for this album, so I recorded whenever I had the money, and at home when I couldn't afford to go anywhere else. It was patient and long-winded, so it allowed me to flesh out the ideas more and come up with a more cohesive whole."

"Plus, some of the songs with the Donkeys sound kind of live, I guess, but I generally tend towards a more claustrophobic recording style," continues Ashworth. “Some of the songs, like ‘Killers’, sound uncomfortably intimate, and that's a quality I enjoy. I don't think the records should have to sound like the live shows. The live shows can be something different."

Still, Vs. Children has gone virtually unnoticed, other than a few reviews from indie magnates. Therefore, live is where Ashworth makes his living, and as such his show is another one that must be seen to be properly understood. The man has already circumvented the world this year. Many of the answers given to these questions came from a back room in Wellington, New Zealand, in addition to his home in Chicago.

"I often perform on my own, but I've never used a laptop on stage," explains Ashworth. I use keyboards, samplers, drum machines, pedals, and mixers when I play live, and these are basically the same things that I use to make my music. I've used a computer to record and mix music, but never to make it. This is the way I'll be performing in London, and I'm very much, as always, looking forward to it."

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone hits London on 18 December at The Lexington.