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Not many of my posts have been written in the first week I acquired the music. Even for new music I find fresh and exciting, I usually feel it’s better to allow some time for the full and proper digestion of it before writing a quality, meaningful review. Between The Buried And Me’s Colors was one exception to this personal rule, and Apse is another. Although their styles are polar opposites, the reasons are the same - the music intrigued me enough that I wanted to spread word of it as soon as possible.

Spirit was a completely blind purchase that just happened to work out better than I could have imagined. I came across it in Amoeba’s used section for $5 (while looking for Animals As Leaders), and it first caught my attention because the album cover is reminiscent of Opeth’s Blackwater Park. I also found the complete lack of words on the front and back covers to be curious. So actually, I guess you could say this was a “deaf purchase” since I hadn’t heard anything about the band and I relied only on what I saw of the album - who says you can’t judge a book by its cover?

If I had to explain Spirit in one sentence I’d say it’s a dark, atmospheric, and experimental post-rock album. It has a tribal feel at times, and the vocals are used as an additional feature to the overall sound rather than the primary source of the melody, as many post-rock groups are prone to. Other adjectives I think perfectly describe this album are: haunting, creepy, spacey, and weird. Apse has a very unique sound in my opinion, and “Spirit” is one of the most befitting album titles I’ve come across yet, given its previously stated attributes. The songs tend to start with a single instrument (usually the bass or drums) and from there the other elements are added in a layered form. I certainly don’t expect this one to be everyone’s cup of tea, and perhaps not even the majority of our readers, but I highly recommend it for fans of Lunatic Soul, Russian Circles‘ mellower/spacier stuff, and even Radiohead’s most experimental work.