It's been almost three years since we were last graced with an album from The Appleseed Cast, 2006's much more straightforward Peregrine. This is the second album lacking original drummer Josh Baruth, being replaced by former The Casket Lottery member Nate Richardson. Anyone who had the privilege of seeing The Appleseed Cast live with Baruth on percussion understands the raw power he contributed to every song. But bands change lineups quite often, and sometimes the sound does not suffer, as long as the songwriting talent remains. And it's hard to tell how this may have changed the dynamic of this band, because with each album they seem to tweak their sound towards something new, while keeping their distinct style intact. Now on the third record label of their career, The Appleseed Cast may change even more with their seventh full-length, Sagarmatha.
The album was originally intended to be an all-instrumental EP, which turned into a nine-track mostly instrumental LP. This will not surprise most fans, due to the experimental madness of the Low Level Owl recording sessions. This is a band that I have been careful not to underestimate, given their various shifts from album to album, as well as the ability of each album to grow on you over time. More than once have I disliked a segment of a song, only to love it on the fourth listen.
Sagarmatha opens with "So the Little Things Go," a slow and spacey track that at first appears to be an intro, but you soon find out that the melodies extend over eight minutes. As I waited for the vocals to kick in, I began to appreciate the distinct parts of the song and how well they transitioned. When the vocals finally hit, they were heavily distorted in shoegaze fashion. I miss the clean emotion felt in Chris Crisci's vocals, but it seems to work with the ambient guitar tones and muted drums.
Although this album is only nine tracks, it spans almost seventy minutes. Some of it feels rather drawn out, as if the song is too long to retain the raw power of The Appleseed Cast. But the melodies and progressions that you know are distinctly there. It's interesting to see how this band can present similar tones in such different ways. Sagarmatha is not as accessible as Peregrine was, but that's something I really enjoy about it. I have always enjoyed the way The Appleseed Cast has layered melodies, and their fearless use of distortion to get the perfect guitar tone.
That being said, the album isn't perfect. Songs like "South Facing Col" barely resemble the band that I know, and are hard for me to get through. The longer songs appear to lack some fundamental force at some points. I still wish that The Appleseed Cast remained on Deep Elm, but it's not clear that the label changes indicate a powerful shift in their sound. But knowing this band, it may just take me a while to truly appreciate it.
