The Appleseed Cast - Peregrine Review

First Impression:
Final Rating:

The Appleseed Cast went off the deep end in 2001 released the two-volume experimental work Low Level Owl. Following a couple more digressions, including a folksy side project (Old Canes -- which I like), they’ve returned to the studio again. Peregrine is an appropriate title for their latest, considering all the musical meandering they’ve done.

From the onset, it’s clear what kind of beast this record is trying to be: a spectacularly overwrought one. Drum effects and triggering, lots of compression, synths, instrumental tracks – it’s all there. The liberal production is ambitious to the point of being masturbatory. The thing is, if you take away the clamor and clatter, the record doesn’t always have a lot of pop substance, while the more layered stuff doesn’t have the guns to compete with say, Mogwai or Sigur Ros. In fact, some of the aforementioned drum production is eye-roll worthy, particularly on “Woodland Hunter Part 2” and “Mountain Halo”. Whoever decided reversing the drum track is cool should contemplate taking a good look at the inside of a gas stove.

While a few tracks are effective, specifically “Here We Are”, and “Sunlit Ascending”, the dog-and-pony production diverts attention from the underlying atmospheric simplicity that made Owl so successful. Considering how heavily involved that production is on this album, it seems Appleseed Cast should consider having another identity crisis.