Appleseed Cast frontman, Chris Crisci, departs from space rock and moody atmospherics for a multi-instrumental fuzz-folk masterpiece featuring the talents of Jordan Geiger (Minus Story) and Nathan Richardson (The Casket Lottery). Layers of home-recorded toy pianos, glockenspiels, children’s xylophones, trumpets, and cellos combine with the traditional folk-rock instrumentation of acoustic guitars, banjos, and harmonica to form an eerie mix of Daniel Johnston, Van Dyke Parks, and Marc Olsen.

Recorded and mixed at home by Crisci on equipment older than his likely audience, Early Morning Hymns presents a powerful look at a side of songwriting and ornate instrumentation that Crisci had been unable to explore with the Appleseed Cast ensemble. The results are brilliant and captivating songs that, although endearingly brash, avoid the curse of being distractingly clever.