The Appleseed Cast - Two Conversations (Tiger Style, 2003)

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.