The Appleseed Cast Sagarmartha Review Date: January 4th, 2010
Reviewed By: Rating: Not Yet Rated
"As The Little Things Go"

The Appleseed Cast have been around for over a decade now, pleasing just about everyone that is a fan of post-rock as well as fans of atmospheric alternative indie rock. It’s a perfect blend between intricate instrumentation without any vocals and singing with pop elements to help bring you back to something that is somewhat catchy and recognizable. Or in some cases...this might help keep you from falling asleep. The Appleseed Cast have always been my favorite “nighttime” band because their music is chill, its explosive, it’s beautiful, it’s trancelike. Drifting off to sleep to this band always puts me in a good mood when I wake up.

Sagarmartha is no exception.

It’s a little less straight forward, epic, and atmospheric from their previous albums, but it makes up for this with some more experimentation and different mood settings. A song like “Raise the Sails” starts dreary, grungy, low tempo, with lots of delay. It quickly drifts off into underwater synths and bells that come up for air with a beautiful guitar part and new rhythm, synth, and bells that really paint just that picture of gasping for air after being thrown overboard at sea. It’s perfect, simple, carefully choreographed moments like these that take years of practice, experimentation and song writing. They nailed it on this one. Other more straightforward songs like “The Summer Before” also have the more catchy pop elements to it. This song does to me just like it’s title implies, it reminds me of summer and one of my favorite places on earth, Arizona. They know their shit. They know how to put you in exact, specific moods without so much as saying a word outside the title of the song.

Each song is different, none of them sound the same, albeit if you put this record on in the background while you’re doing something...they will all blend together. I love artists like that. You can put it in the background and talk/work over it easily, or crank it up and really listen to just how intricate this stuff is. If you’re looking for a rock track, throw on “South Col.” If you’re looking for my favorite track...God bless the first track, “As The Little Things Go.” It is most like classic Appleseed Cast. Very similar to Explosions in the Sky or something you’d hear on the Friday Night Lights soundtrack. Stuff that makes you feel like crying when all you’re doing is sitting there drinking Mountain Dew like a standard fool. It’s music that transcends conventional beauty. If you’re a diehard music fan...shit man, you can’t go wrong this band or this album.