Front Porch Musings

The other day my goof-ball friend, Buzz, was hootin and hollerin’ about Friday Night Lights being his second all-time favorite TV show behind the OC. Yes, I know what you’re probably thinking right now, “is this guy in high school?” Well, no he’s not in high school; hes actually closer to 30, but at times I wish he had the maturity level of a high schooler. So we had our discussion on why Friday Night Lights is his second all-time favorite TV show and per usual, it went in one ear and out the other. However, if there is one thing I could take from the conversation, it reminded me of the Austin band, Explosions in the Sky. You might have heard these guys, they’re the extremely melodic instrumental band that provided the score for the movie version of Friday Night Lights. They seemed like a pretty cool band and all, but outside the Friday Nights Light’s soundtrack I’m completely lost. I’ve never tried to get to know the sound of the band because they reminded me too much of The Appleseed Cast. The Appleseed Cast is a band that has been trecking along for the last decade and has managed to deliver some of the most creative music I have ever heard, and definitely worth posting about.

The Appleseed Cast sound I mention is a little different from the bands we typically write about on this blog. We constantly reiterate, if it doesn’t have twang or angst we write it off and send it down the river. However, there are a few bands that get a hall pass and Kansas’ finest, The Appleseed Cast is one of them. Whether its frontman, Christopher Crisci’s clean vocals or the experimental guitar work, you find yourself zoned in on the music. One of my buddies described it as being the ballsiest soothing music you’ll ever hear. Which I think he hit it right on the head. The guitar work is extremely complex as they toy with multiple effects, interesting riffs, and drawn out interludes, but rarely coming off overbearing. These guys have managed to convey a message in two facets whether it through vocals which can be found on the albums, Two Conversation or Peregrine, or they express their emotions through their experimental melodies which are expressed on Low Level Owl, Vol. 1-2 and Sagarmatha. And with music evolving and bands constantly changing their sound to play to the masses it’s comforting to see a band like The Appleseed Cast stick to their sound since the mid 90s. And Ill be perfectly honest, every now and then the twang and angst needs to be put on hold for a day or two, and no better band to fill in than them. So don’t be shy and get to know these guys. Trust me, you’ll dig.

-Keith

“Hanging Marionette” (Two Conversations)

“Fight Song” (Two Conversations)

“As The Little Things Go” (Sagarmatha)

Really cool video about the band..