The Appleseed Cast
Two Conversations

There are days when my gaze passes through faces, getting lost somewhere unknown. There are mornings when my wounds scream, rant, spew insults and curses, telling me they are there, that they could open up like nothing if they wanted to. Other days, I forget everything; I know there have been neither wars nor revolutions, my soul feels light, I only wish for less frenzy. Essentially, I'm just fooling myself.

Fortunately, sometimes I possess the remedy. Groups like this one, for instance. Outsiders, people on the margins. I've often been on the margins, I know them well. I feel an affinity with these people.

The Appleseed Cast teeter on the edge, on the margins. They come from Kansas, a frontier land. They started ("The End Of The Ring Wars") in the midst of the emo rock clamor, shouting fierce Fugazi-like screams over Husker Du structures. Raw.

Then they discovered post-rock: "Low Level Owl Vol. 1-2" is a monumental treatise on how to make ethereal rock with gusto: expanded chords, liquid voice used as if it were an additional instrument, icy melancholy slathered on bare backs. A masterpiece, I know nobody has ever told you about it (not on these pages). What can you do, the world is unjust. Anyway, you should have it in your collections.

They continued doing their thing (the latest "Sagarmatha," from 2009, is yet another masterpiece). "Two Conversations" is a parenthesis. A splendid parenthesis. Released in 2003, it is perhaps our most accessible album. 10 tracks, under 40 minutes of music. "Hello Dearest Love" starts, and you think they are still lost in the mists of "Low...", when suddenly the bass and drums tear through the clouds, and Cristopher Crisci's voice sketches a perfect melody.

I won't make it long, I'll give you a few simple pointers: "Two Conversations" is the perfect synthesis between the album Radiohead never made after "The Bends", between the best '90s emo rock (Texas is the Reason, Sensefield, Shudder to Think), between the melodies of Husker Du's "Warehouse", between saturated yet broad and atmospheric sounds. This is precisely where the stylistic hallmark of the apple seeds lies: the ability to combine melodic urgency with expansive, "nebulous" structures. In this album, urgency prevails over atmosphere, giving us 10 marvelous gems. Above all "Fight Song": a song about a love that ended, with a simply irresistible crescendo.

On those mornings, when my wounds seek their moment of glory, having "Two Conversations" in the car helps keep them quiet. At least until the next time.