The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha

Wistful, dreamy, beautiful. A sonic cloud of post-rock fluffiness. Can you guess which album I'm describing? That's right, it's obviously Mogwai's Mr. Beast. Got you. But The Appleseed Cast's new album Sagarmatha sounds an awful lot like that too. Fortunately, The Appleseed Cast has turned down the impenetrable pretentiousness knob down a couple notches since their last release, Peregrine. The paranoid soundscapes have been reduced by about 20%, and Owen-esque twinkliness, as well as some good old fashioned booming rock guitar, have stepped up to fill the gap, making for a much easier listen than the preceding album. Unfortunately, with 5 of the 9 songs coming in at over 6 minutes long, the album still feels a little more art than heart. Also, the band has a pretty impressive early catalog to live up to, and the dreamy wash doesn't come anywhere near capturing the heart-wrenching energy of their magnum opus, 2000's Mare Vitalis. Sagarmatha is an interesting album, its a pretty album, but its not something you grant permanent empty-cd-player-filler status in your car.

3.5 / 5