Considered to be one of the titans in the original second wave of emo bands, TheAppleseed Cast rose to the spotlight in the late 90’s and early to mid 2000’s, with a string albums, including Low Level Owl I & II, and non-stop touring, earning them high critical praise and a loyal following. Their influence can be heard in countless contemporary bands such as Chvrches – whose lead singer is a self-proclaimed super fan, Basement, Mewithoutyou and so many more.

Always adept at maintaining the signature Appleseed sound, yet consistently experimenting and evolving over the last 20+ years with the band. Chris Crisci, with the help of Sean Bergman, Ben Kimball, and Nick Fredrickson, have crafted another epic, heart-sad tale of darkness and light that could well become a personal soundtrack, like so many other TAC albums.

The Fleeting Light of Impermanence, like an organically developed novel, was first conceptualized by Crisci in hundreds of vignettes before seamlessly weaving them together. It was then recorded in three phases. Initial recording was engineered by Luke Tweedy at Flat Black Studio (Iowa City, IA) in January 2019 over six days. The second recording session was engineered by Duane Trower at Weights and Measures Studios (Kansas City, MO) over three days. Part of the recording plan was to set up all of the instruments throughout the main recording room and use shared room mics. Almost all of the reverb on the album comes from these room mics as opposed to artificial reverb units or plugins, giving the lushness that the band was aiming for. Vocals and additional instrumentation was done at home, and the album was mixed by Crisci. Sonically, the new record is equal parts experimental, post rock, and indie but at the end of the day is very much so Appleseed Cast.

Both lyrically and sonically, the album delves into the raw edges of existence, happiness, love and the journey to be free and laid out under the expanse of the universe with the vulnerable defeats and fleeting victories of life. It is about surviving and finding love and meaning against the backdrop of seemingly overwhelming darkness in the world. This idea runs through the entire album and shines in the repeated themes of fire, signifying our life light, the most basic good in people and the love that carries us through. There’s a feeling that this fire is both, at the same time, insignificant, as on a lonely beach at the edge of the world or in a pile of leaves, and also the only thing that really matters.