Despite wandering into Explosions in the Sky’s territory, the epic (post-rock) fail that is Sagarmatha won’t land the A-Cast a spot on the Friday Night Lights soundtrack anytime soon. The general lack of dynamism makes the eight-minute, mostly instrumental tracks drag more than a Thursday at Bob & Barbara’s. Even “The Summer Before,” the track closest to The Appleseed Cast of yore, suffers from a lack of movement — how many times can frontman Christopher Crisci say “Arizona” in three minutes? “Like A Locust (Shake Hands with the Dead)” should be retitled “My First Loop” because that’s all it is. The psych rock of “South Facing Col” finally gets your blood pumping on the second-to-last track, but mostly because the end of the album is within reach.
Hometown: Lawrence, Kansas Release Date: Feb. 17 Label: The Militia Group Sounds Like: A bad Explosions in the Sky cover band Sounds Best When: You're not listening to it 99-Cent Budget Choice: “The Summer Before”
