It's hard to pinpoint a group that can glaze over different musical plains, yet make all of their sounds, as unorthodox as they may be, seem like they fit together. The Appleseed Cast's latest can best be summarized as a melancholy sequence of stunning orchestrations and breathtaking crescendos. They start out with an emo base, but instead of calculating their sounds around that style, the group does a phenomenal job throwing that rule book out the window. The band is patient with their introductory sequences on most tracks only to fully unleash during their later portions. "On Reflection" does a fantastic job throwing listeners for a loop, making them assume the entire track will keep its gentle tone, shocking them when it blossoms with a fast paced dynamic. "Steps and Numbers" and "Signal" are by far the most accessible, but both still possess an intriguing mystique to fit the mood of the disc. The album's finale "View of a Burning City" leaves listeners in a dreamlike state, urgently desiring the release of Volume 2 in the series.
4 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 2001Reviewed by Nate BaileyLow Level Owl, Vol. 1 is a concept album in a way. It's more like a classical symphony than anything else. Instead of individual songs, there are movements. Each movement is linked to the next with electronic induced loops, echoes, and instrumentals (many with piano). This is only the first volume, there is a second that follows up where this leaves off, and the whole project is over two hours in…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Ken MuellerLow Level Owl: Volume 1 is the first of two recordings to be released by The Appleseed Cast this year, with Volume 2 coming in the fall. Both discs were recorded at the same time, and Volume 1 shows that one of the top bands in the emo genre is continuing to grow and expand their horizons. Not content to rest on their laurels, the band has added more keyboards, more experimentation, more studio…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Bert GanglLow Level Owl: Volume I, the third full-length project from the Appleseed Cast, is the first of two entries in a 26-song set from the Lawrence, Kansas-based quartet, with the second volume slated for release in late October of 2001. Like The End of the Ring Wars and Mare Vitalis before it, the latest effort falls broadly into the emo/dream pop section of the modern rock panorama. But where Ring…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Olin JenkinsThe last time I saw Appleseed Cast in concert, this emo band was very loud, and as I remember them then, holding lots of hope for the world. With Low Level Owl: (Volume 1), Appleseed Cast is almost musically and lyrically subdued. If you like the style of The Juliana Theory at a more sombre sound level, you may enjoy this project. Then again, the lyrics may have you guessing again. Low Level Owl…Similar sounding releases
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