Cast In The Middle

Can you believe that The Appleseed Cast have been around since 1997? Yeah, a long time. I heard a track of theirs back in 2003 when I was stranded in Roma, a small town in the middle of Queensland, Australia. I was starved for music, and it was that experience that started my journey of searching further and wider (via the internet - podunk cowpoke covers bands dont cut the mustard with me) for that next sonic fix. It reaped its own dividends - Explosions In The Sky being the biggest "discovery" - but I also came across TAC's 'Max' on Deep Elm Records' The Emo Diaries No. 2 (seriously, that's what the compilation is called!) and really enjoyed the complexities of it. They have ebbed and flowed as far as musical prowess goes, but there have been moments on albums such as Low Level Owl and Peregrine that they have courted true excellence.

Its kind of fitting that I was in the middle of nowhere when I heard TAC for the first time, as they themselves are from a similar clime - Lawrence, Kansas to be exact - and their new EP, Middle States, is pretty much about that experience. Its an addictive little 4 song player, one which has been going around and around here since receiving it a couple weeks ago. It holds onto the warmth that has been creeping into their post-rock sound over the past few years, and gives us a little insight into where they and we are heading for their eighth album due next year.


Middle States is out in June via Graveface Records.

The Appleseed Cast - Middle States
The Appleseed Cast - End Frigate Constellation

Studying Postrockology In The Deep Elm

Deep Elm Records have released a compilation of various bands that wield musical alchemy under the post-rock banner. There are some great tracks here - most notably from mainstays The Appleseed Cast - although SM advocates Dorena also rate a mention. Apart from that though - its pretty low on the ground for anything approaching good. Still, you can pick it up here for free - check it out for yourself.

Dorena -From The Window Of My Room
Goonies Never Say Die - Nothing Remains Forever Yet The Future Still Holds Hope
The Appleseed Cast -Storms

Dorena Know Everything - And More...

Sweden's post rock five-piece Dorena have been making sweet vocal-optional music since 2007. Latest LP About Everything And More is in many ways the Post Rock Handbook of albums - interweaving shimmering guitars, simple yet intricate rhythm section, the building up of emotive tension through the slow increase in sound until the whole thing cascades in abject noise...but what they have also harnessed is the innate ability to embrace and express particular emotions through song passages. I am a post rock/instrumental rock tragic, so this was right up my alley, but there is some leeway here for the unconverted - from the synth pop feyness and deeper vocal variant of Sigur Ros of 'From The Window Of My Room', and the staccato beats and sawing effects of 'We'll Never Meet This Young Again.' In fact, despite the raucousness of a few tracks like 'At Sea', there is more of a sense of fun in Dorena's output that is missing in most post rock circles - post-rock-pop? This alone marks them as an interesting band to watch.

About Everything And More is out now on Deep Elm Records.

Dorena - At Sea