There is a phrase that comes up in music discourse a lot: “arrived fully formed.” It’s often employed to describe an artist whose debut already demonstrates the sound that they would go on to make their trademark. You can see this in bands like Fugazi or Mogwai, where their artistic voice was already established from their earliest releases.
This phrase does not apply to The End of the Ring Wars. Where The Appleseed Cast would make a long career blending post rock composition and emo songwriting to build one of the most enduring catalogs in the scene, their debut is much rougher around the edges. Very little of the sophistication that would make albums like Low Level Owl or Mare Vitalis seminal classics is on display here.
Instead, they offer up an homage to genre pioneers like Sunny Day Real Estate or Mineral, leaning heavy on twinkling guitars, moaned vocals, and noisy catharsis.