 |
The Appleseed Cast Low
Level Owl Volume 1 By: Peter Berard (Lawrencerock.com Editor/Designer) |
|
|
The
Official AC Fan Page essay on Low Level Owl Mare
Vitalis was a great collection of songs. Every track brought something
fresh and original to world of indie rock. The album touched on moods
and emotions that are seldom covered by other artists. Rings Wars promise
was a good start to the race and I assumed that Mare Vitalis was the
finish line. It was the perfect example of catching a band in full stride……
or so I thought. Low
Level Owl Volume 1, The Appleseed Cast’s new release, is the best
music the band has ever produced. The album simply pushes the envelope
of indie rock, emo, recording techniques, and musicianship into a place
that has rarely been visited. Instead of bringing together a collection
of ten distinct songs like Mare Vitalis, Appleseed Cast chose to create
a 53-minute long soundscape of melody, rhythm, and emotion. The album’s
14 tracks do not divide the album up into abrupt fragments like so many
other albums, but rather the tracks act merely as road signs guiding
the listener through a seamless sonic journey. The tracks should not
even be considered songs but instead moments of expression and emotion.
Each moment bleeds effortlessly into the next leaving the listener to
make distinctions between the changing concepts and ideas on their own.
Low Level Owl is an amazing display of music.The Appleseed Cast had
a daunting task on their hands when they went into the studio to record
LLO; not only did they have to find a way to top their spectacular last
album, Mare Vitalis, but they also had to find a way to fill two whole
CD’s with this music (Low Level Owl Volume 1 is the first installment
in a two volume set). The Appleseed Cast could have easily solved this
problem by filling two CD’s worth of songs like Marigold &
Patchwork and Forever Longing the Golden Sunsets. There is no doubt
in my mind that AC is capable of making two records with edge filled
emo rock that would in all likelihood make the band big indie stars
that would probably even rival the Matt Pryor, Vagrant juggernaut. Instead
of going down this path however, AC decided to try to make something
truly unique. Low Level Owl explores new territory for the band including
the use of keyboards, drum loops and a lot of studio magic. One reviewer
stated of Low Level Owl “Appleseed Cast might be America's closest
answer to Radiohead”. I agree with the reviewer’s comparison
of the electronic transformation Radiohead went through and the one
Appleseed Cast goes through on LLO, but there is one big fundamental
difference between Radiohead and AC (AC is not pretentious). Radiohead
went from a straight rock band with The Bends, to a semi rock band with
O.K. Computer, and then on to an almost totally electronic band with
Kid A. It is entirely possible to think two different bands made Kid
A and The Bends. This is not the case with AC and LLO. LLO
treads new water but it still keeps everything that makes Appleseed
Cast, APPLESEED CAST. This was no easy task for the band but luckily
they had a few things going for them; they were returning to a familiar
studio, Red House, and they were reuniting with Mare Vitalis producer
Ed Rose. The combination of Red House Recording and Ed Rose has proven
to be an almost magical combination and the work done on LLO is no exception.
LLO has some of the most unique and refreshing production I have ever
heard. For starters, the drum-sound is amazing. Unlike so many of today’s
recordings where the drum sound is so up front in the mix and so clear
that it doesn’t even sound real. LLO’s drums are a very far
departure from that sound. Ed Rose and company used the combination
of open mics and a Slingerland drum kit to produce a warm full sound
that is not overpowering but is still a dominant part of the arrangement.
This style of drum recording is not liked by all unfortunately. One
listener of Low Level Owl claimed, “the drums sound like they are
sixteen miles away”. Obviously this is an exaggeration, but it
does go to show how big record company’s have brain washed music
listeners into believing that there is only one type of production that
is acceptable. A
part LLO’s production that will be acceptable to the masses is
the guitar sound. As usual with any Ed Rose production the guitar sound
is next to perfect. The Appleseed Cast is notorious for using a lot
of delay and other such effects, which can cause the guitar tracks to
sound muddy. On Low Level Owl, however, the guitars sound extremely
clear and bright. Unlike the drums, the guitar sound is so up front
in the mix that it would be impossible to claim that the guitars sound
16 miles away (right in front of you would be a better explanation of
the sound). Even
though the production on LLO is incredible it is not perfect. The one
problem I have with the recording is the vocal sound. The vocals on
Low Level Owl are buried very deep down into the mix on most songs.
This is not that unusual for AC considering their emphasis is typically
on the instrumentation, but in LLO’s case the vocals are a little
to far back in the mix. Chris has an exceptional voice and it should
be featured rather then hidden. Another problem with the vocals is that
there are too many effects added to them. Unlike the clear, bright guitar
sound the vocals at times do in fact get a little muddy. I want to hear
Chris’ natural voice because it adds more emotion and edge to the
sound. This is the one aspect of Mare Vitalis that is superior to Low
Level Owl. Although, the main vocals could have been produced differently
the sound of the background vocals almost makes up for it. The backing
vocals on LLO are used very gracefully to flesh out particular arrangements
with a full deep sound. I stated earlier that Mare Vitalis was an example
of catching a band in full stride. Low Level Owl on the other hand catches
the band doing something more important, GROWING. The direction Appleseed
Cast took with Low Level Owl was filled with risks and chances. The
album could have easily flopped considering all that went into making
it, but this wasn’t even a concern of the band. Low Level Owl shows
a band that has grown as musicians and as people. Every band member
shows some kind of growth and this is the aspect of the Low Level Owl
that I appreciate the most. Cobra
grew tremendously as a drummer since Mare Vitalis. It was easy to recognize
the talent Cobra had with his exuberant drum wok on Mare Vitalis but
there were questions of how well his drumming worked with the music
around him. These questions were answered with Low Level Owl. Cobra
keeps his unique carving drum sound but he also shows the ability to
take it down a notch to use more traditional styles to fit moments better.
There is not a single miss placed hit on the album. Low
Level Owl also shows tremendous songwriting growth by Chris and Aaron.
They both realized that not every song has to be as conventionally catchy
as Patchwork and Marigold to be good and that there are ways to make
good songs that don’t have to be filled with balls to the wall
rock and roll. Chris and Aaron fill Low Level Owl with subtle moments
of stripped down melodies and rhythms that are just as enjoyable to
listen to then anything else on the album. It is these subtle moments
of limited instrumentation on Low Level Owl that make the album flow
together so well and what make it unique. Chris and Aaron were not capable
of writing this album a couple of years ago but it is apparent that
they can now. The
last member of AC to show growth as a musician is Marc, the bass player.
Until now Marc has been the new kid who has done a great job playing
bass lines that were written by his prediscosers. Now with Low Level
Owl, however, Marc finally gets to contribute with his own bass lines.
It is no surprise that Appleseed Cast’s best album occurred while
Marc was in the studio.The musical growth of Appleseed Cast is impressive
but what is even more impressive is the personal growth the band shows
with Low Level Owl. Mare Vitalis was an album filled with raw emotions
dealing with homesickness and a generally longing of something unattainable.
That album does such a great job at expressing those emotions that it
almost forces you into feeling them. Low Level Owl on the other hand
expresses emotions in a far more gentle fashion. The album provides
a musical soundtrack for which a listener can shape his/her own emotional
reaction to the music. The music acts as steppingstones to guide you
to into feeling particular emotions rather then forcing you. Although,
the album doesn’t go out of its way to push its moods and emotions
you can still feel emotions of peacefulness and contentment. The Appleseed
Cast have grown since their days of longing to a band that is confident
in themselves as people and as musicians. The Album doesn’t take
you as deep into the personal lives of the band as much as the Aaron/Chris
side project of Hundred Hands does but it doesn’t leave you clueless
either. Low Level Owl is a product of love, imagination, and devotion
that can only come from a band that has the one simple goal of making
music. You have to listen to it yourself to understand. A
note on listening to Low Level Owl: |
||