By Peter Berard

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).
The one aspect of Low Level Owl’s production that will probably garner the most praise will be the experimental techniques used to record the album. Ed Rose and AC try just about everything to get an interesting sound; tape was run backwards, computers were used to make loops, sounds of leaves and other samples were added, and my personal favorite, adding delay to drums were techniques all used. The amazing part about the recording is not the fact that a lot of electronic wizardry was used, but the fact that the recording sounds organic and human even with all the electronic elements (a problem Kid A has in my opinion).
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:
Because of the complex sound of Low Level Owl you might want to listen to it with many different types of speakers and headphones. I have heard from many that the only way to really enjoy the album is with headphones. This is not necessarily true if you have a good speaker system set up. If Low Level Owl doesn’t sound as good as it should try it on different stereo systems.