Illumination Ritual

The Appleseed Cast have walked the line between emo and post-rock their entire career, but with this album they’ve again hit an absolutely perfect union of catchy songwriting and expansive atmospherics. Unlike their monumental double album Low Level Owl, this is a more serene and naturalistic affair. These songs are active and energetic but never showy. Rather, the technicality and attention to detail make these songs feel organic and airborne, even at their heaviest. Brief descriptions don’t do justice to the nuance of the music. One of most subtly pleasurable and stunning albums of the year. It’s all great. Play all/any. No FCCs detected.

1. (5:29)—Slow, mellow beginning. Calm; vocals enter. Builds to fast climax.
2. (4:37)—Fast. Frenetic drumming, anthemic vocals and guitars.
3. (2:41)—Slow. Instrumental. Muscular rhythms paired with soothing guitar interplay.
4. (4:37)—Fast. Spare but highly rhythmic verses. Big, ringing choruses.
5. (4:16)—Fast verses, half-time choruses. Another relatively anthemic piece, this time with a more conventional structure. Hypnotic coda.
6. (3:01)— Mid-tempo. Instrumental. Calm, reflective, spare. Sudden ending.
7. (4:13)—Fast. Epic intro segues into a post-punk trance state. Giant ending. Pure energy. Blends into track 8, so either play on continuous or fade this out manually. (Tracks 7-10 work really well on continuous.)
8. (6:02)—Fast. Gauzy, spaced-out, driving. Ambient middle section. Krautrock for walking in the woods.
9. (5:14)—Fast. Picks up where the last track left off. Starts in a slightly lower gear, grows in intensity when the call-and-response vocals enter. Feedback for the last thirty seconds.
10. (4:03)—Fast. Instrumental. Loud beginning, calms over time and settles into a perfect, tranquil post-rock groove.