Appleseed Cast
The Appleseed Cast started their musical experiments in the second half of the 90's, toured the world, put out 4 full-length albums, and now arrive at a precarious place in their career. They've been there... but they haven't done this yet.
The latest album by The Appleseed Cast, Peregrine, is: spacious, thick, brooding, joyful, explosive, and back and forth, yet somehow seamless at the same time. Peregrine carries tones and sounds (at times) as stormy and spooky as the album's theme/storyline lends. All in 13 tracks, Peregrine significantly yields what the band's last four albums offered striking glimpses of. Overcoming a reflective hiatus to their career-defining, long-awaited return, The Appleseed Cast reemerge-- living out their “Fight Songs” and “Mile Markers”.
There is a road to travel, even crawl (black and blue and half drunk sometimes), before a band can reach their catharsis. Not the figurative one, not the one in which bands speak of because it sounds profound in interviews. I'm talking about the authentic, honest, and humbling experience of truly releasing everything in the bag to one distinct piece of work. It's cleansing, and an amazing province that The Appleseed Cast have saddled and made theirs from the beginning of the ride and will go on until the very last second.
Founding members Chris Crisci (vocals/guitar) and Aaron Pillar (guitar) continue this ride with Marc Young (bass), and the latest addition, drummer Nathan Richardson formerly of The Casket Lottery. With a new distinct sounding creative at the helm of percussion, the band is further driven to greatness, while carefully expanding on the music in the most original ways. There is a brand new driving line that is letting each individual build and build on. Experimental? Yes. Self-indulgent? Not on your life.
The Appleseed Cast's Peregrine is, lyrically and musically, a haunting patchwork of images. A family separated, a daughter's ghost, a once loving father racked with guilt, brutality manifesting like a shell around him, a son fighting against his enmity, and the avenging angel, the daughter, Peregrine.
The Appleseed Cast have always been one of Lawrence, Kansas' name brand exports. Their onstage energy, gentle personalities, and master execution of a story using sound and body language have always made them an experience that cannot be missed. With the coming of Peregrine, and execution of this new tale in a live setting, The Appleseed Cast will have done what is most important in the life of a band; they will have taken the beautiful pieces they have each individually acquired over the last 10 years, and placed them perfectly together as one mosaic to be aurally inhaled by the listener. They are here. This is it.
By Sean Ingram