Customer Reviews

Sagarmatha

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fair warning - this is my favorite band, so forget journalistic integrity or unbiased opinion. That's the way these things work, you should be used to it if you watch the news at all. So for the simple, unbiased review, enjoy - "The Appleseed Cast have crafted a beautiful patchwork of songs that could be described as mostly instrumental post-rock, with a hint of grown up emo - if there is such a thing - with Sagarmatha. The vocals get lost in the guitars and simply melt into the music. Sagarmatha is best experienced with a set of headphones, an open mind and closed eyes."

OK, now comes the biased, sentimental review...

I can't hold it back - this album is phenomenal, like Dark Side of the Moon or Low Level Owl or Clarity or EndSerenading or Give Up or American Football or any other highly touted, unbelievably good album you can think of. Obviously I may be a little over exuberant since I obviously dig spaced-out, emo-tinged rock and roll. If that's your thing, then this is your new favorite album. If not, I would still give it a listen; you'll probably enjoy it.

I've been waiting a long time for this album. It took a week to get it in the mail. But beyond the USPS, I've been waiting for this ever since the end of Low Level Owl. I know bands grow and change and put out different sounding records - Two Conversations and Peregrine were equally awesome in their own rights - and I know bands hate to try and make "another ___" when it comes to their successful albums, but you can't help but listen to Low Level Owl and simply want more. No one else can do the whole "post-rock" instrumental thing without being "post-rock" better than The Appleseed Cast. Throwing in the hints of emo just make it that much better.

The majority of the album is instrumental, which plays right into The Appleseed Cast's greatest strength. They have an uncanny ability, like Explosions in the Sky, to create masterfully crafted atmospheric and enveloping melodies and rifts. Maybe a lot of people think that the biggest reason for their talent can be credited to studio trickery or the genius of Ed Rose. I know some people find the band boring and dull. But if you have an ounce of admiration for this band or enjoy their music or sound at all and you see them live, you instantly realize that The Appleseed Cast, with Chris and Aaron at the helm, can craft beautiful, intricate, moving rock and roll songs, simply because they are that gifted. It's really not overly important who is playing bass or drums or turning the knobs.

That is by no means a knock of Josh or Marc or Jr. or John or Dustin or anyone else that has ever picked up the bass or set behind the kit for the band, they have all played a vital part in the band and have helped craft their sound over the years. But The Appleseed Cast is Chris and Aaron. No matter how you look at it, the beauty of their music is the lush, thick, dreamy and raw guitar sounds that get layered and melted into often amazing drum work and always overlooked bass lines.

Chris's vocals sound more lost than ever before in Sagarmatha. Almost totally gone are the hints of pop that crept through in Mare Vitalis and Peregrine and were prevalent in Two Conversations. Sagarmatha feels more like the sound and mood of Low Level Owl mixed with some of the emotion from The End of the Rings Wars and Mare Vitalis. There's just an overwhelming sense of release to the music, like leaning back in a rocking chair on the front porch and letting out a deep and well deserved sigh after a long day as the sun sets behind the mountain and the sky turns all orange and red and yellow and blue, just before it gets dark and all the stars come out.

The first 3 songs clock in at over 23 minutes and there are hardly any vocals to be heard throughout each song. It sounds like they recorded "Sunset Drama King" during the Mare Vitalis sessions, or "Steps and Numbers" just after "The Clock and the Storm." There's a melding of their sounds throughout the years, like this is the pinnacle of what they can accomplish as a band. And it just might be their best album, even better than Low Level Owl.

"The Summer Before" sounds like the recorded "Forever Longing the Golden Sunset" during the Low Level Owl sessions; it's the closest thing to straightforward pop/rock and roll that you'll get on the album. "Raise the Sails" and "South Con" are haunting and beautiful; like a sunset or the waves; and really push the boundaries of anything the band has ever done before, melding the instrumental aspect of the band with the emo and the rock and roll aspect, kind of like rolling up "Room and Gardens," "February" and "Blind Man's Arrow" all into one.

"An Army of Fireflies" is one of the best songs I have ever heard.

So basically, as a recap, the first half of the album (As the Little Things Go, A Bright Light, The Road West and The Summer Before) is more instrumental in the vein of Low Level Owl with a dash of rock and roll from Peregrine or Mare Vitalis thrown in. "One Reminder, An Empty Room," a very sparse and beautiful instrumental, divides the album perfectly. The Last half (Raise the Sails, Like a Locust [Shake Hands With The Dead], South Col and An Army of Fireflies) is more progressive than the first half and really shows off a melding of Low Level Owl and Peregrine that breeds a new sound that shows that the band still had a little bit of growing to do before calling it quits.

This is The Appleseed Casts last album. They have said that they will go on tour once more and then they will break up. It's sad to see them go. They have been one of the most overlooked, underrated bands of this whole "indie" or "underground" or "emo" or whatever you want to call it scene. Simply put, they are one of music's best-kept secrets.

Sagarmatha is the best release so far in 2009, that's a biased and unbiased opinion. The unbiased portion of me says this will be topped this year, it's only February, but it will be in many top 10s. The biased part of me says that Sagarmatha is one of the best albums in the past 10 years and may go down as the bands best.

If you are already a familiar with the Appleseed Cast I can almost guarantee you that you'll find some love for Sagarmatha. I myself am a new fan but an enthusiastic one at that, owning this album and the two albums before it and witnessing the bands amazing live experience for the first time just a couple days ago. That said, compared to the eerie and tension filled sound of Peregrine, Sagarmatha for the most part, takes a more relaxed approach with kind of a "today is a nice sunny day" feel to the songs. One would also be quick to notice on this album the long song structures and the somewhat limited vocals on many of the songs... which in a way makes much of this album the bands unique take at incorporating post rock elements more so than before, while they manage to retaining their signature sound. Some of the longer songs test my short attention span, but overall, I am very pleased with this lovely little indie record. All the songs are truly very good, but right now my favorite tracks are: "As The Little Things Go", the catchy "The Summer Before" "Raise The Sails", and "South Col", (which has actually a very Peregrinish sound). I think it's great that bands like the Appleseed Cast are still around and experimenting with music with fantastic results. Highly recommended.

I have , what I think is, every Appleseed Cast CD. They have a new bassist and drummer on here, and they play very well together, Wow! At first I had certain favorite racks like, "An Army of Fireflies" , "A Bright Light" and "Like a Locus." Instant classics at first listen, but this album is a masterpiece in its entirty. I can't stop listening to it from beginning to end track. Anyone who likes good, artistic, and inventive rock must own this. Recommended for fans of Explosions in the Sky.

I have been a fan of Appleseed Cast for years, starting with their first CD Last of The Ring Wars. Next I listened to Two Conversations and, despite lukewarm reviews, I really enjoyed the story it told; especially since it reflected a relationship that I was going through at the time. After that I backtracked to the Low Level Owl cds; they were a big change for me but eventually I fell in love with them. Then I had fun with the more rocking Mare Vitalis and Lost Songs, the latter is my favorite release from Appleseed Cast. With their switch to Militia Group records and a new producer, their next cd Peregrin seemed a bit muddled. The music was too dark and not consistent enough through the record. Being unsatisfied with Peregrin, I really looked forward to this next release, Sagarmatha, especially because Ed Rose was to come back and produce this record and I was hoping for a drop of the gloomy, uncharacteristic sound back to the atmospheric, tight sound he created for them before.

Ok, so after all that, finally I can tell you my impression of Sagarmatha. Despite some of the rave reviews of the album, especially the lengthy one here on Amazon, I really really don't like this album. The drumming is boring (they really miss Josh Baruth) and at times pathetic. Only on the last song (the best on the album) does it become interesting. I know lyrics are not big for the band, but on this album they get particularly boring, and somewhat droning. For example, the word Arizona is repeated so many times on the song The Summer Before that it makes me never want to go there.

On the whole, I respect what Appleseed Cast it going for (perhaps an evolution of the sound they created on LLO), hence the two stars. But what they ended up created was just not that engaging. Despite the instrumentals on LLO, I could always show them to friends with pride. Here on this album, unless my friends like elevator music, there's nothing to show them.

Here's hoping they make a progression to more stimulating music on the next record.

Electronic embellishments aside, the group struggles to say anything meaningful that hasn't been reiterated already, albeit in their typical lushly produced way.

For those who love this band from a dude who loves this band:

There are bands that write songs and there are bands that write albums. The Appleseed Cast, as you know, is both, and this album falls into the "album" category.

This is probably their best work since Low Level Owl with regards to instrumentation. The atmosphere they've created here is humbling. It's beautiful but vulnerable. Vocally, Chris has explored some new avenues.

This is one of the most refreshing indie releases I've heard in a while and, like the rest of their albums, I highly recommend this....particularly for those who enjoy atmospheric music and post rock.

I certainly hope they don't believe they've reached their peak. If their album title says anything I think we can assume they tried to make this the best record to date. With a discography like theirs its a tough order to fill and its hard not to expect to be blown away each and every time and yet it's what they've been doing as a band since their inception.

Sagarmatha is another step in this journey through various soundscapes and while Peregrine and Two Conversations told more coherant stories Sagarmatha is probably their most abstract work since Low Level Owl. In many ways it shares alot of things in common with that incredible two volume work they released not too long ago. An emphasis on instrumentals returns the band to its love for the long slow build up. Picking off notes that compose brilliant melodies that build on themselves and on eachother.

"As the little things go" opens the record without the need for a soft introduction. Instead they get right into the thick of their dense layered sound right from the start. What the song lacks in distinction it makes up as a whole work that manages to blend all of the different elements together until the final two minutes where Vocals are introduced just as your mind is tempted to wander. They grab you and they are so inviting they leave you wanting more but you realize its just enough.

As if to satiate this sudden need for vocals the next track,"A Bright Light", plays a little more traditionally or so you think. Yes its a classic Appleseed Cast track but the hook is what your not going to see coming. In no way should it be considered a hook but the crashing guitars manage to turn into something they try so hard not to be. The song is almost at war with itself and I mean that as a compliment.

Another aspect your are sure to notice is the smooth sounding vocals. Christopher Crisci lets his vocals take a back seat to the prominent melodies on the record. Only introduced to enhance never made to take center stage. In Peregrine he would wail if necessary but on Sagarmatha the only tone needed is the soft spoken nature of his lyrics lulled out smoothly to the few tracks that even have vocals at all.

The instrumentals could have used a little more composition and little less repetition but as it goes it all somehow finds its way in the end. "The Road West" introduces a style we've never heard from the Cast before and its probably the one I enjoyed the most.

I could go into detail on every track but it would only take away from the abstract nature of what the band is trying to capture on this record. I don't think it manages to top LLO or their past two efforts but like every other Appleseed Cast record it does stand on its own as its own beast. If theirs anything that dissapoints its the nature of the title and the album art work. Nothing about it seems to be cohessive either in message or tone. Perhaps that was intentional but it leaves me cold and seems thrown together. Luckily the music doesn't so any long time fans should take this journey and make up their own minds.

Length:: 1:16 Mins

Sagarmatha