Review Summary: A fantastic release, despite being derivative and completely off brand for The Appleseed Cast
For Appleseed Cast fans it goes without saying that The End of the Ring Wars is the outcast and oft disregarded album of their discography. Like the ugly and unsuccessful child of a wealthy family, ostracized and neglected from the beginning. Perhaps he spent too many afternoons with the neighboring Mineral family’s son. Or maybe all that time across the street at the old Sunny Day Real Estate business left a lifelong impression on him, and a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. He’s just not like his younger siblings who went forth and seized their moment, finding their own unique niche to contribute to the respected Appleseed Cast family name. No, The End of the Ring Wars sticks out like a sore thumb upon viewing the family portrait. But just because he’s different than his kin, does that make him bad? I don’t think so, not at all. It just means you have to keep his differences in mind and cut him some slack. Because in his own right, he’s a pretty cool guy.
Right away the album hits you with “Marigold and Patchwork”, a song that, simply put, covers every single mid 90s emo/alt rock trope. Weightless clean guitars that pluck away at a despondent, circular melody as the rhythm section transports the song from note to note with relatable sensations of youth. A crescendo into a passionate verse, complete with strained vocals chock full of vague, but certainly sad, lyrics. And of course an abrupt diminuendo that precedes the triumphant and explosive return of the distorted guitars. It’s all on bold display here folks, and so often this derivative style of songwriting makes albums bland, dishonest, and downright offensive. But what is different here is that The Appleseed Cast are just so damn good at it, it doesn’t matter that this sound was all but exhausted at the point of the album’s release. At times The End of the Ring Wars is visceral in its aggression, infinitely catchy with melancholic pop hooks, and downright impressive with honest beauty. Frequently reaching extremes in the genre that Mineral seldom touched and certainly outclassing emo giants such as American Football or Braid. If The Appleseed Cast wished to pursue this conventional emo career they started with, they would have been fine and The End of the Ring Wars would be heralded as a cornerstone in the genre. Because it is that good. But, probably for the better, they did a 180 (well, maybe a 90) and became the post rock/indie rock darlings we’ve come to know. Thus rendering The End of the Ring Wars obsolete and relatively insignificant.
It should be said that the album isn’t as similar to its contemporaries as it is made out to be. Certain songs, specifically the aforementioned “Marigold and Patchwork”, do deserve that connotation though. Not that it’s particularly a bad thing, really. “On Sidewalks” for example, while reeking of Diary era SDRE, is a delicate and cathartic piece of music. Here The Appleseed Cast first show off their ability to write a captivating song that has the intensity of a whisper. These more familiar moments aside, there are a handful of tracks here that set The End of the Ring Wars slightly apart from the obvious comparisons, and at times give the tiniest glimpse into what The Appleseed Cast would soon become. “Moment 72” walks upon a tightrope of pop-punk, somewhat akin to Texas Is The Reason, and manages to never fall off of it and into depths of corny and cliché emo pop hell (Jimmy Eat World, Brand New). When the full band kicks in on “Portrait” they venture into some pretty unbecoming territory for emo as the riff, paired with the ham-fisted drums, is blatantly hostile with its only purpose being to sound pissed off.
It ain’t perfect, though. Both “16 Days” and “Dreamland” are meandering efforts that are simply too long and plagued by obvious influence. They both lack what the standouts have: Memorable moments, masterful songwriting, and charm to make up for the album’s already glaring deficiencies. “December 27, 1990” is a decent song, but the drawn-out annunciation style emo vocals paired with the blatant attempt at creating a sad song, are laid on so thick to the point of cringing. With all of this said, The End of the Ring Wars is a very good album, great, in fact. Is it better than Sunny Day’s Diary or LP2 (granted it sounds nothing like LP2)? No. Better than Mineral’s The Power of Failing or EndSerenading? No. What about Texas Is The Reason’s Do You Know Who You Are? No. I mention these albums because undoubtedly those are the benchmarks that The End of the Ring Wars will be judged against. Not only because of the similarities in sound but because those are utterly fantastic albums. And in the genre of emo, a genre so littered with mediocre, derivative, and transparent music, it is important to appreciate the bright spots. And if you’re an Appleseed Cast purist who snubs his nose at such a childish album like The End of the Ring Wars, because they all but ditched their emo roots and made Low Level Owl, then I don’t know, man. Just give it a chance.
Top Tracks (no order):
Moment 72
Portrait
Antihero
Untitled ½
On Sidewalks
