The Appleseed Cast reaches impressive heights with Sagarmantha
Band pushes themselves and their instruments to create epic instrumental tracks
The Appleseed Cast
Sagarmatha
Released on Feb 17, 2009
February is a difficult month, because there’s no way to ease in and out of it. One moment, you’re celebrating the most pointless holiday in the history of the world—Groundhog Day, of course—then you’re buying heart-shaped candy at 70% off, and then it’s March. I personally believe that the acronym “WTF” was made up by someone who was thinking about February at the time.
As if you can’t tell, February has me in a bit of a funk. I’ve been relying on music to bring me out of it, but Explosions in the Sky and Titus Andronicus are starting to lose their luster. And really, I shouldn’t put this amount of mood-altering pressure on just two bands. The Appleseed Cast, it’s about time that you come share some of the burden.
Sagarmatha might sound like just a cool word, but when you find out that it’s also the Nepalese name for Mount Everest, the expectations for this album are slightly raised. Though this is the band’s seventh full-length release, it’s my first time listening to them. So while I can’t speak from a position of expertise on their vast career, I can say this with full confidence: Sagarmatha sets very high expectations for itself musically, and reaches nearly all of them.
There’s nothing about this album that feels effortless, but I don’t mean that in a negative way. Each member sounds like they are pushing themselves and their respective instruments beyond their comfort zone. During a time when it seems like a lot of bands are making it based on a carefree sound that verges on sloppy, it’s a wonderful surprise to listen to a disc that sounds like it’s always striving for something more.
Albums shouldn’t necessarily be reviewed backwards, but the final track is too excellent to not immediately bring up. “An Army of Fireflies,” one of the many instrumental tracks on the album, showcases their gorgeous guitars, as well as spot-on percussion. Even though I’m looking to Appleseed Cast to replace my worn-out Explosions in the Sky, the two sound remarkably alike, especially on this track. I would venture to say that Appleseed is slightly more adventurous and tough-sounding than Explosions, but both have a knack for bringing out the full potential of an instrumental track. However, it’s the ending of this song that does it for me. The title of the track is beautifully illustrated in the last 30 seconds—the singular notes are reminiscent of fireflies lighting up one by one.
And now to rewind to the opening track, “As Little Things Go.” It’s fairly ballsy of them to start off their album with an 8-minute plus song, but this meditative track sets a great tone for Sagarmatha. It truly does help to ease you into the variety of sounds that you’re about to hear.
The album as a whole is cohesive, and alternating relaxing and exhilarating. While I do wish that they would stick with solely instruments, instead of including vocals on tracks like “A Bright Light,” the vocals are decent enough to provide an interesting accent to their excellent compositions. Even though March is right around the corner, and the funk is bound to lift, I’m glad to know that I’ve got this album to get me through the remaining days of February.
High Point
“Like a Locus (Shake Hands With The Dead)” takes on an electronic tone, which provides a sharp contrast to the rest of the tracks. However, the contrast works surprisingly well.
Low Point
Again, the singing is an issue — I like to classify things, and I’m confused as to what to do with the band, exactly. Can I put them with Explosions in their instrumental territory? Or do I chalk them up as a “regular” band, with lyrics and all that?
Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Feb 26, 2009 @ 6:00 am