The Appleseed Cast

Sagarmatha

[2/5]

The Appleseed Cast have come a long way since their early days as a not-so-original act on Deep Elm Records’ roster of emo-superstar wannabes. The band paid their dues and learned some new tricks, eventually becoming a respectable, creative indie-rock act (heck, even Pitchfork’s given their back catalog mostly positive reviews). But what the Appleseed Cast nurtured from a pathetic little emo seed to a respectable bumper crop of shoegazing fuzz has now withered on the vine in the hot Lawrence, Kansas, sun.

Originally conceived as an instrumental-only EP, Sagarmatha evolved unnecessarily into a largely instrumental bliss-pop full-length that feels more like a demo than a finished album. “An Army Of Fireflies” and “So The Little Things” would have made good Shiner-esque tunes if vocalist/guitarist Christopher Crisci spent as much time writing lyrics as he apparently did shopping for new guitar effects pedals. The mood, talent and energy are present, but the lack of lyrics is off-putting and relegates the band’s seventh proper LP to B-team status. (THE MILITIA GROUP; themilitiagroup.com) Oakland L. Childers

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Ester Drang’s Goldenwest

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Thrice’s The Alchemy Index, Vol. II: Water EP