Review Summary: Though Sagarmatha represents a confident change of pace for Lawrence, Kansas's gentlemen in The Appleseed Cast, it's a change of pace that seems to be only appropriate after their previous releases.
Being released in 2009, this is the latest LP to be added to
The Appleseed Cast’s abundant discography. Fan’s of previous Appleseed Cast projects may not indulge as deeply in Sagarmatha due to this albums post-rock appeal. Though Sagarmatha is very much still an Appleseed Cast record, it is by far their most spacey record; it is ideal to listen to when taking on tasks such as studying, making a long drive, or trying to sneak in an afternoon nap. The spacey vibes on this album shouldn’t be much of a surprise since the band has grown more docile with every release.
After the first few seconds, the listener is furlowed into a soft yet bustling riff that will reign over the first six of eight minutes of the first track, “As the Little Things Go”. For a listener like me, it’s easy to become lost in the monotony and swim in thoughts that the song so effortlessly invokes. But I fear that most listener to hear a song like this would remove their headphones after the first minute and a half; the instance I just described in the last two sentences applies to nearly every other track on the album, where the band takes the art of vamping to a whole new level. Nevertheless, I would wager my bet that The Appleseed Cast are comfortable with the risk they’ve taken in letting an ambient factor dominate the majority of the record. Not to be mistaken, I should state that the band does employ several moments throughout the album that will rock your socks on and off (see tracks “A Bright Light,” “Raise the Sails”, and “South Col”).
Lead vocalist/guitarist Chris Crisci’s vocal implementation has always been unusual. Sure, in End of the Ring Wars (1998) and Mare Vitalis (2000), his vocals were typical of the genre. However, ever since their Low Level Owl CDs (2001-2002), his vocal tracks have more been layered, pushed back, and smeared into more texture than sound. The textural approach is a perfect fit for The Appleseed Cast's one-of-a-kind sound, and though Crisci isn't the strongest of vocalists, The Appleseed Cast has never been desperate to see jaws drop at the sight of them playing some ridiculously technical music.
Guitarist/backing vocalist Taylor Holenbeck’s and Crisci’s guitar parts are usually independent of each other. Though it sounds as if each guitarist may not heed the other’s part, their playing meshes together and swirls about seamlessly more than ever on this record. Though Sagarmatha is by no means a bore of an album, there are significantly fewer “shock and awe” moments to be found here than on their previous releases. In light of the facts that this album is their most subdued yet and Holenbeck and Crisci seem to stray further from the limelight than ever before, the band recorded their first ever guitar solo (calling it a solo may be a bit of a stretch), which can be found tucked away in the final moments of track eight, “South Col.” Just when the song seems to be coming to a close, the band swings back into groove and carry with them the “safe and simple” solo.
When compared to preceding releases, the rhythm section’s parts on Sagarmatha are overall a bit of a let-down, which I suppose isn’t entirely their fault seeing as Nate Whitman (bass) and Josh Momberg (drums) were both fairly new additions to the band’s line-up during the times of Sagarmatha. Whitman’s bass lines seemed to have been written with more haste and less effort, and Momberg’s tracks aren’t necessarily worthy of a standing ovation either. Momberg plays with a style very different from your typical drummer, and so did the last Appleseed Cast drummer, Aaron Coker. The fact that each drummer plays so unusually is just about the only similarity that can be drawn between the two; Coker’s style is characterized by sneaking in extra ornamental noises via cymbals, bells, splashes etc. and Momberg prefers to play with unusual driving beats and rhythms
Despite the sudden changes in line-up, Sagarmatha still sounds like the same old Appleseed Cast (whom have never recorded the same album twice). Sagarmatha is steadier and more consistent than most of their previous work; also the chemistry between each individual member becomes more evident with every listen.
I wouldn’t say Sagarmatha is necessarily the greatest album The Appleseed Cast has released thus far, but who could really judge what a band’s greatest work is or isn’t? However, one thing I would say is that this record marks a giant step in the right direction – the direction that the band has been attempting to move along for quite some time now. I could see this album being the type of album that many listeners enjoy, but may too soon forget about and revisit only every few months or so. Personally, I cherish the album and see Sagarmatha as just another labor of love to come from Kansas’s The Appleseed Cast, which will definitely stick with me for a long time to come, though I know that the same can’t be said for every listener.
