The Appleseed Cast
Middle States
Graveface
2011
Rating: 5.5 tin pans worn as hats out of 10
I've long been a fan of the Appleseed Cast, but the sort of fan who likes their records, listens to them for a little while, and then totally forgets about them. To be honest, I didn't even know they were still around until this album crossed my computer. Well, at least they seem to be calling it an album, but at four songs and under thirty minutes this is an EP in my book. But that only matters to assholes like me who get anal retentive about classifications.
The last time I really paid a lot of attention to this band was 2003's "Two Conversations", a fantastic record of post-emo-post-rock with lots of sonic exploration but still within the confines of the traditional rock song. Their music is quite catchy but not really poppy, if you know what I mean. Honestly, this EP only hits that territory for me in one of the four songs, the title track "Middle States". But it hits really hard on that one, one of their best songs of all time. The rest of it kinda fills a touch like filler, or maybe the greatness of that song just makes everything else feel mediocre. At a minimum, if you're a fan of this band hunt out the title track, and who knows, maybe the rest of it will stroke you properly as well.
The Appleseed Cast
Peregrine
Militia Muzik
2006
Rating: 7 falcons out of 10
I’ve not been sure what to classify the Appleseed Cast as for a while now…they might have started out rooted in the Lawrence, KS emo scene from the mid-90s that was huge, but after their first couple of records they diverged so far from that path that to consider them emo now would just be silly. The review of this album on Allmusic somewhat jokingly makes reference to “Midwest post-rock”, but honestly this is as good a descriptor of their sound as about anything else, if you’re really itching to put a label on things. If you were to try and combine elements from Tristeza, The Cure, Mogwai, the Notwist…maybe even a little Sigur Ros when they are at their rockingest, you’d have the general idea of where these guys are coming from, even if they don’t really sound like any of those bands per se.
On first listen, and maybe even the second and third listens, my reaction was “good, enjoyable record that sounds like their last record ‘Two Conversations’”... but as I dug deeper I got a feeling that things had been switched up in very subtle ways, ways that seep into your brain after you’ve digested the album a few times. Most notable of these changes is the drumming; not only is there a new drummer with a decidedly different style (think Doug Scharin from June of 44, if that means anything to you), but the organic drums are paired up with or played off of lots of electronic beats so it gives a wholly new texture to these otherwise atmospheric, noisy pop songs. There’s even some slide guitar on one of the songs for chrissakes, and somehow it works. Bottom line, this is a very good record, and a continued step in the right direction for a vastly underappreciated band.
The Appleseed Cast
Two Conversations
Tiger Style
2003
Rating: 8 conversation pits out of 10
I’ve enjoyed the output of The Appleseed Cast for some time now, specifically their "Low Level Owl" series. But I was in no way prepared for how much their newest release, "Two Conversations", would sweep me off my feet. Known for changing their sound somewhat with every release, this album finds the Cast taking a much more straight forward approach to their songs, with the experimental noisescapes present in the Owl series at a minimum or incorporated fully into the songs. Some might still consider these guys "emo" because of their lyrics about relationships and tendencies towards wearing their hearts on their sleeves, but their music is so far beyond and above the emo norm that you would be hard pressed to classify them as such anyways. The Cast come across like a three way brawl between Cursive, Radiohead, and Mogwai, and come out sounding like none of them. With the music they have putting out for the last few albums, you can mark my words that The Appleseed Cast will be a touchstone for a whole new generation of musicians in the years to come, and for good reason – they are simply playing some of the best new music out there, anywhere.
