Finally reissued, the first two albums from Minnesota slowcore pioneers Low, whose records were a template for a million slow bands to follow, and yet whose sound, especially on these first two records, sounds utterly unlike anyone else. Hushed and hazy and dolorously brooding, the guitars slipping from muffled murky chug to lazy washed out jangle to crystalline chime, the drums a skeletal shuffle, the bass drowsily driving in the background, sounding almost like some abstract take on those dour Joy Division basslines, the perfect backdrop for the haunting and heavenly boy / girl harmonies, all of those elements blended into into a gorgeous stately dreampop that's blurry and bleary, gauzy and psychedelic, droned out and minimal, darkly propulsive and narcotically hypnotic.
I Could Live In Hope was the group's 1994 debut produced by Shimmy Disc / Noise New Jersey head honcho Kramer, who added his own production haze, which perfectly suited the group's mesmerizingly somnambulent minimalism, the arrangements spare, displaying a delicate sonic economy, but somehow, the sum so much more than its parts, strangely epic and majestic, and even the most hushed minimal drifts imbued with impossibly catchy hooks. It's like the perfect pop record just slowed way down and stretched way out. Check out "Lazy", the record's 'hit' if hits could be dark claustrophobic doom pop dirges, or the sprawling blissed out "Lullaby", that almost even 'rocks' part way through, like an ultra minimal Godspeed, all slow build sonic drama, or the smokey, shimmery "Down". Still all these years later, I Could Live In Hope would have to rank up there as one of THEE essential releases of the nineties.
But then really so would the next year's follow up, Long Division, which once again matched the band up with Kramer, and the result was essentially an extension of I Could Live In Hope. Although, if anything, Long Division found the band, ditching some of the gauzy atmosphere of that first record, their sound suddenly super clear and crystalline, and somehow all the more haunting for it. Opening track "Violence" is still dark and minimal, but more like some minimal torch song ballad, all sun dappled and dreamy. In fact, much of the record has a sort of sun dappled vibe. If I Could Live In Hope was all overcast skies and rainswept streets, Long Division finds the clouds party, just a bit, to reveal streaks of blue sky, and letting just a few stray sunbeams through, which Low somehow transform into perfect slo-mo pop. "Below & Above" is a gorgeous lullaby, "Shame" is a twang flecked soft focus dirge, "Throw Out The Line" is all tarpit jangle and lush harmonies, and so it goes, every song here, so easy to get utterly lost in, the whole record, the perfect light to I Could Live In Hope's dark, but with both blurring the line in between.
These reissues tack on a handful of bonus tracks, B-sides and demos, which unless you already have their A Lifetime Of Temporary Relief triple cd odds and ends collection, you probably haven't heard. Long Division includes their version of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke", and it sounds like it was written specifically for them...
A few years back, Low played a Halloween show in Los Angeles in which they came out as the Misfits, complete with hyperbolic widow's peak, ghoulish corpse paint, and -- most shockingly -- a rather accurate performance of Misfits covers. While Low hasn't
Low really does try to out-do Morrissey's melodrama on "Last Night..." with Alan gently singing along to a quiet guitar strum over ringing feedback and an ample dose of reverb, before the band explodes in a majestic crescendo of theatrical excess. Add an original from Low and a video of the single "Dinosaur Act" off their "Things Lost In The Fire" album, and you've got yourself one fine cd single.
One of the most emotionally devastating and beautiful records of all time. We couldn't be more happy that this classic album by Low has finally been reissued on vinyl. It's an album really made to be listened to in the solitary refuge of your bedroom, so hopefully your turntable is in there. Produced by Shimmy Disc mastermind Kramer, and released in 1995, this will always be the way we hear the sound of Low when we close our eyes and think of all the times their music has been the soundtrack during times of heartache, confusion, and despair. The pinnacle and defining moment of slowcore, every single song on Long Division slowly creeps its way into your subconscious. No other bands could use such a minimalist approach and achieve such a heavy & haunting aura. Songs like "Violence", "Caroline", "Shame", and "Alone", are not only some of the best Low songs ever recorded, but they are simply some of the most emotionally impacting songs of the last two decades.�
Long Division is not a record you put on in the background or when you're just hanging out with friends, this is a record you listen to during moments of introspection, of soul searching, loneliness and sorrow yet they're also infused with a sense of hope. Music doesn't get more emotionally intense or elegant then this. A perfect album!
Not so much just a tour video, but a history of the band as well, which is surprisingly interesting and quite beautifully filmed. All the band members seem quite likable, and have interesting stuff to say about the joy of playing music, touring, the music industry, family (two band members are married and they travel with their young child). The live performances are lovely and intense. It's easy to think a band like Low would be mind numbingly boring live, but somehow it works. Reverent and hushed, the band barely move, but bathed in soft light, usually in a church, they really manage to transport the listener / viewer to some wholly other place. What's most remarkable perhaps is that all of the footage (most shot on digital video, some on super 8) manages to convey the same sort of vibe as the music: brooding, dark, slow, sparse, lugubrious, emotional, moody, almost as if the movie itself was just another Low song.
Holy shit... they did it again! Two plus decades into their career and Low have managed to make yet another breathtaking record, a collection of songs that even on first listen, induced the sort of chills that only the most special records ever do. Along with Yo La Tengo, Low have proven to be one of the most consistent and reliable bands to emerge from the indie landscape in the last twenty-five years. Pioneers of the slowcore sound, their music has always been rich with wrenching emotion and a relentless power.
Over the years, they have experimented with more rocking and poppy directions, but even then, their slowcore roots remained, and somehow they always ended up, if not back where they started, at least sonically expounding on all the glacial beauty that came before. With Ones & Sixes, Low they have created maybe one of their best records yet, one that most definitely belongs with other Low faves of ours, alongside Long Division, Secret Name, and Things We Lost In The Fire. Everything we love about Low is in full flower here. Alan and Mimi's aching vocals, soporific songs that unfold like slowly blossoming flowers, with melodies that have us humming along - and in a perfect world, could/should/would be all over the radio. Low have never compromised their singular vision, and like the rest of Low's records, this is exactly it sounds like when a band remains connected to their truth and purpose. Brilliant!
Certainly an unlikely candidate for the seemingly ubiquitous remix, Low has received a few brilliant reworkings by likeminded slo-mo electronica superstars Porter Ricks, DJ Vadim, and Neotropic. Worth owning simply for the Porter Ricks cut which demonstrates that Andy and Thomas truly understand the slow motion minimalism of Low with this beautiful piece of delicately shifting electronics.
An album that remains one of my favorite recordings in the face of advancing technology and fancy pants studio wizardry is the Cowboy Junkies' first album "The Trinity Sessions." Recorded in an empty church directly into a stereo pair of microphones and onto tape, it's a testament to the possibilities of "live" recordings. I'd always thought that a band that deserved to be treated
No stranger to crafting holiday tunes, Low's Christmas epfrom several years ago is still a big time favorite around here come wintertime. This new 7" finds Low singing about Santa Coming Over on the 'a' side while the flipside finds them getting as close to reggae as they probably ever will with "The Coming Of Jah." Beautifully and subtly packaged with white on white embossed lettering, and it comes with a coupon for free digital downloads of the tracks. A no-brainer as a stocking stuffer.
The sixth studio album from Low is not so much a shift in song writing but rather in production as they've employed the technical prowess of Steve Albini. By wholly avoiding the reverb drenched production that has carried over since Low's early albums recording with Kramer, Albini chooses a very sparse dry sound that exposes Mimi's and Alan's voices cracking against the beautifully languid orchestration of slow motion rock minimalism. Its end result is delicate, fragile, and gorgeous. This may very well be their best album to date!
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Low's first outing on Kranky is even more sparse than their Vernon Yard recordings...the gaping spaces in between the desolate notes create an ominous (at times...) atmosphere.
Here's the third in the ongoing reissue campaign of the early works from Minnesota slowcore pioneers Low, 1996's The Curtain Hits The Cast. The first two records, the Kramer produced I Could Live In Hope and Long Division, recently reviewed here, introduced the band as purveyors of a gorgeous strand of minimal slowed down indie rock, glacial and meditative, haunting and hushed, and while certainly a sound other groups had explored, no one had reimagined it so completely, and made it so totally their own, to the point, where it's practically impossible at this point to hear a Low song and not immediately know it's Low. The instrumentation spare and sparse, simple shuffling rhythms, muted murky basslines, disembodied minor key jangle, all blurred and smeared into hazy, woozy, soporific drifts, over which gorgeous boy/girl harmonies unfurl dreamily, slipping from slo-mo dream-pop to something at times almost liturgical.
While those first two records most definitely benefitted from Kramer's blurred gauzy percussion, on Curtain, the band seem to have peeled away much of the fuzz and shimmer, revealing something delicate and crystalline underneath. The songs here creeping ominously one second, drifting lazily the next, the vocals much more intricate, with long drawn out harmonies, that often blur into hazy vocal drones, thee's even a hint of twang here and there, as if Low were purveyors of some lost folk music, all flickering shadows, and soft swirls of melody. Meditative and mesmerizing, in a perfect world this is the music kids would slow dance to, and the music that would play over the heartbreaking denouements of obscure art films, moving and emotional, and heartbreakingly beautiful slow motion indie rock balladry that still knows no equal.
This reissue includes two tracks which were originally only available on the original vinyl, and the cd version (sorry vinyl folks) also tacks on a WHOLE EXTRA DISC with five bonus tracks: B sides, alternate versions and more.
Holy smokes, talk about potent reactions! We can hear the roar of dismay from Low fans miles away in response to this new album, but hang on a second folks, don't push it aside so swiftly, give it another listen... and another! Yes, The Great Destroyer does mark a change in direction (perhaps most noticeably in tempo and the presence of crunchier guitar dissonance) for the band. The first two songs, the synth and guitar laden "Monkey" and the great poppy "California" make that perfectly clear. What this album does is confirm what we already know, that is, just what great songcraftsmiths Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker and Zak Sally are. However, it also makes us realize and appreciate that they really could be doing any style they choose (and doing it exceedingly well), but because they've stuck to the slowcore for so many years and so many albums, they've in a sense produced a recognizable 'product' called Low that fans know and love... and do not want to change. So it's not surprising that after twelve years and six albums, a change in Low would draw some passionate (or maybe even irate) response from fans. For those folks, we'll just say cherish your Secret Name and Long Division, but maybe find a place in your heart for The Great Destroyer too.
A tip of the hat to the band for following their artistic muse and throwing a challenging curve ball rather than simply making more of what they themselves know they can already do, and more of what they surely know their fans want. No, this album doesn't offer their trademark blanket of hushed, lulling glacialness, but the heartaching lyrical impact and stunning arrangements are still more than present. Really, it's no exaggeration to say that some of these songs will floor you! The Great Destroyer is an emotionally expansive, deeply moving and fully rewarding album. It was co-produced with David Fridmann who also after years of unmistakable grand blown-out productions (Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse, Delgados) makes some changes to his approach, showing surprising restraint particularly on songs such as the more familiar 'old-Low' sounding songs "Silver Rider" and "Death Of A Salesman". Beautiful! Highly recommended... 'nuf said.
NOTE: this has a "street date" of 1/5/04 which means we can't sell it to ya 'til then, next Tuesday. But go ahead and order it now if you're a mailorder-er.
Another gorgeous collection of dreamy downer pop brilliance from these slowcore legends, and like on 2010's C'mon, it's hard to know what to say about Low, that we haven't already, but on The Invisible Way, some things have definitely changed. Not just the sound, but the songs as well. The sound, is massive, lush, and layered, much of the record sounding like some classic pop record, baroque and majestic, the instruments perfectly preserved, the sound live, and ALIVE, as if they were playing right there in front of you, but also meticulously recorded to perfectly capture every nuance, no matter how subtle. The harmonies, always an integral part of Low's sound, are even more beautiful this time around, so much so, that in places it seems like the instrumentation has been purposefully dialed back to let the vocals carry the whole song, and they do, and it's sublime. There's also lots of piano this time around, and what sounds like strings. There's one track with a weird sort of handclap beat, that almost sounds like a drum machine. It all makes for a gorgeous record, one that remains true to the group's slowcore past, but is definitely pushing the sound in exciting new directions. Jeff Tweedy from Wilco produced the Invisible Way, so he can probably take credit for some of this new sound, but then there's the shift in Low's sound, which in places, definitely sounds a bit twangy and even a little bit country, but in others like seventies British folk, and in others like baroque pop, and still in others like some sort of ethereal blues. All of those elements definitely existed in the band before now, but never has each of those been so perfectly honed, the songs here achingly beautiful, heartfelt and haunting, and yet still impossibly catchy. As much as we sometimes think to ourselves, "oh ok, another Low record, ho hum", the second we hear it, we are immediately transfixed, utterly smitten, and are reminded that Low is one of the rare bands who seem unable to make a bad record, and who just get better and better and better, even after nearly twenty years. And once we begin listening to a new Low, we can't help but let ourselves get fantastically and inexorably lost in Low's dreamlike soundworld. And The Invisible Way is no different.
Finally, a new full length from Low! Yet again Steve Albini is at the controls, though it seems he has loosened his production reigns a bit since Secret Name -- having wetted up the mix a bit more with the reverb that Low appreciates so. On top of that, Low continues to push their self-established, simmeringly-quiet barebones envelope by actually filling out their sound with mellotron, violins, piano, etc. But at the heart of it all, it's still the same lovely, patient Low songwriting we love. "Laser Beam" is the highlight of the album, wherein Mimi sings so purely. There's a bit of disagreement here at AQ whether these continued experiments and the new songs are more or less successful than Secret Name, so we can't give it an assertive "yay" or "nay". The jury is still out on this one.
LP has two extra non-cd tracks.
5 songs including a Joy Division cover (which also appeared on the tribute compilation album a whiles back) and a Supreme Dicks song, but it all sounds like quintessential Low.
I feel compelled to lay this on the table: I am totally, absolutely biased toward loving this album. The way I feel about Low is indelibly intertwined with the fact that my first experiences listening to them occurred in my impressionable, and typically miserable, teenage years. While many of my other favored sonic vehicles for massive teen mope fests have long been sold off and forgotten, I still treasure my Low records. This is in no small part due to the fact that they continue to release one record after another that expands and pushes their sound without abandoning the essential Low-ness that made me like them in the first place. That "Low-ness" could, at first, be simply attributed to their glacial pace and minimalist approach, but as their records become more and more lush and full, finding space for added instrumentation and songs that increasingly use the vernacular of straight up rock/pop, something else emerges as the core.
"Trust" continues the momentum established in "Secret Name" and "Things We Lost in the Fire," albeit in a way that is not as immediately graspable as those albums, both of which struck me immediately with their undeniable pop sensibility and catchiness tempered with dark themes. Where vocal-musical interplay on "Things We Lost in the Fire" resulted in an almost black-comedic bleakness, "Trust" regains a more purely somber tone (with the possible exception of the album's fuzz-rocking *hit* "Canada") that repeatedly deals with a worldview informed by ambiguous religious imagery. As Mormons, Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk surely have a relationship with a higher power, but through their chilling songs one gets the feeling that their god is one of impartial omnipotence and destruction as sure as one of love and creation. It is, perhaps, this exploration of the capability of life and the forces in it to deliver both tragic and beautiful moments, often simultaneously, that makes Low so fucking great.
A bit more about "Trust": Albini didn't produce this one, and there aren't any string arrangements, although the bigness of sound is still there. There's a re-emergence of a kind of minimal two-note dirge a la "Long Division" or "The Curtain Hits The Cast" (see "Candy Girl"), although the spaces that existed in the songs on those records are filled in a bit here with reverb and spacy fuzz. If you already like Low, of course you need this. If there's any tendency at all in your record collection toward the sparse and melancholic, then you need this as well, because Low has shown more versatilty and virtuosity within a potentially limiting genre than anyone else, and this album is so gorgeous it hurts.
Needless to say, a must-see (and must-hear*) for Low fans! This dvd features a 2007 documentary by filmmaker David Kleijwegt which captures both private and public moments in the lives of Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk, otherwise known as beloved slowcore band Low. Intimate, poignant, thought-provoking and deeply moving.
*The dvd's bonus material comes in the form of six acoustic tracks (their cover of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke", "Done", "Dinosaur Act", Sharp-Tooth Dinosaur", Little Argument With Myself" and "Pretty People") recorded during the making of the documentary. Yes, as devastatingly beautiful and beautifully devastating as ever.
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Thoroughly delightful little EP wherein Low's Mimi and Alan supply the vocals and UK electronic experimentalists Springheel Jack make the instrumental accompaniment. Clearly big Low fans, Springheel Jack have respectfully kept the music quiet and sparse... just like Low would have, only with added embellishments Low usually avoids, like ominous electronic rumbles, evocative strings, serene piano. Very pretty.
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Yep, it's as good as you had hoped it might be. This is the Dirty Three collaborating with Low for the newest in the KonKurrent label's In the Fishtank series of releases, where artists are given two days in a Dutch studio to do whatever they like. And the
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Expensive split single from the UK. One of Low's best-loved but never-released songs, "David & Jude" is brief and starkly beautiful. The addition of Calvin Johnson on melodica is very nice. Leeds quintet Vibracathedral Orchestra offer up a cyclical groove of primitive percussion in a macabre carnival atmosphere. Worthy of your time.
Most of the time, the cds that come with magazines are a waste of time, you might discover a song or a band, but more often than not, it's some paid promotional thing, where the bands with the most money, or at least the ones WILLING to pay, are the ones featured. But recently, Mojo magazine did an issue about the new country, or the new folk maybe it was, and included a cover cd, that we never really bothered to listen to at first, but eventually threw on, just to check it out, and BAM. It was like the best mixtape we'd ever heard. Incredible songs, great bands, perfectly sequenced, we couldn't stop listening to it. With a million songs to choose from on our iPod, we found ourselves constantly playing the Mojo comp. WTF? Fleet Foxes, Yeasayer, Iron & Wine, Alela Diane, the Dodos, Animal Collective, Akron/Family, Papercuts, The Pink Mountaintops, Vetiver, Bill Callahan, J. Tillman and these guys, The Low Anthem. Never heard of em before, but their song in particular had us smitten, a dark brooding deep folk number called "To Ohio", which is included here, and still, even after a hundred plays, has lost none of its magic. Delicate acoustic guitar, sweetly moaning cellos, and rough but warm and sweet vocals, harmonica, lovely harmonies, it's been stuck in our heads since we first heard it.
But there's plenty more. "Charlie Darwin" is another sun dappled dream folk number, but with lush lustrous falsetto vox, hushed and intimate with some super bittersweet harmonica here too. And while most of the record is on the quiet side, a super intimate affair, there are some more stompy bluegrass numbers, some almost rocking workouts, but it's never long before they settle back into something dark and languorous and dreamy. And be sure to stick around for the "To Ohio (Reprise)", which adds extra reverb and gives the song some extra bass, a muted driving rhythm, and some violin, making the song even darker and more psychedelic. So good.
After discovering these guys via a cd sampler in a magazine of all places, we quickly became pretty obsessed, their last record, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, becoming a fast favorite. Their sound dark, and melancholy, a sort of twangy slowcore, a moody countrified folk, the instrumentation spare, yet lush, the vocals incredible, the songs pretty much perfect.
For their new record, the group gathered in an old abandoned pasta factory, in a massive space, all wood floors and huge windows, and expanded their already expansive sonic palette, the usual rock instruments augmented by clarinet, upright bass, trumpet, harmonium, violin, cello, electrified pump organ, flugelhorn, jaw harp, trombone, re-amp, melodeon, banjo, wind chimes, omnichord, harmonica, crotales with sizzling coins (!) and flickering film (!!). Yet even with all those extra instruments, the sound remains skeletal and intimate, the band weaving softly swirling stretches of warm country shimmer, the album opener is a heart breaking mournful lament, the horns unfurling sweetly sorrowful melodies, over a dreamy balladic background, while "Apothecary Love" is more of a Dylan-y chunk of folk, rife with slippery slide, but the band do let loose, and do make full use of the increased complement of sound making devices on "Boeing 737", which sounds like Neutral Milk Hotel or Arcade Fire via Uncle Tupelo, rollicking and rocking, and epic, the sound lush and nearly orchestral, but right after, the band return to something much more minimal, a series of haunting dreamlike fuzzy twang flecked dreamfolk ballads, mostly just buzzing steel strings and vocals, the songs colored by wheezing organs and harmonicas, warbly harmoniums, lots of subtle, lush and layered buzz, the room sound too, an instrument of its own, wreathing the songs in a soft reverby haze. So lovely.
Definitely for fans of Vic Chesnutt, Jayhawks, Sparklehorse, Iron And Wine, Songs:Ohia and the like.
First we've heard from this LA (by way of Mexico) power trio, which includes members both of the Melvins and Mr. Bungle. And while there's not a whole lot of Bungle-isms, the Melvins connection is definitely solid. Low Flying Hawks traffic in a slow, lugubrious sludge pop, slipping from downer dirge, to fuzzed out heaviness, to brooding death rock, to swirling psychedelia, all driven by the killer rhythm section of Dale Crover and Trevor Dunn. The mysterious third member / LFh mainman more than holds his own, his guitar crunchy and melodic, crumbling and blown out in equal measure, his vocals landing somewhere between the bellow of Buzz from the Melvins, the anguished wail of Creston from Harvey Milk, the mumbled croon of Dan from True Widow and the sneery snarl of Mark Arm from Mudhoney. The songs lurch and lumber, a sort of shoegaze stoner metal, heavy and doomy and tripped out, melodic and catchy, weary and woozy, a dreamily downer slowcore dirge rock that evokes all kinds of favorites from the seventies, eighties and nineties.
Fans of all stripes of depressing heaviness, moody miserablism and wasted, downer psych, will definitely dig this big time.
We don't always know what to expect from a Rune Grammofon release, other than snazzy graphic design of course. The music is usually really nice too, but what genre? Sometimes drone, sometimes electronic, sometimes improv jazz... In this case, we still couldn't tell you after listening to the first few songs. The opening track is an instrumental, and seems like some sort of jazzy techno rock, with a dash of surfy skronk. Pretty cool, modern prog we'd guess we'd call it. It's like something on the early '70s Vertigo label given an electronica update. Then track two is glitchier and noisier - but also poppier, with sweet, finger snappin' female vocals in English. Track three introduces male vocals as well, singing about Star Trek's "Geordie La Forge" (???) over a slightly excited motorik beat. That one's a bit like a more mild mannered Circle, but gone indie rock, or something. Track four, meanwhile, is much moodier. The songs that follow incorporate all of that stuff and more... What IS this? Well, we're not entirely sure, but we know it's growing on us.
We also know that Norway's The Low Frequency In Stereo is a five piece band, everybody playing organ (among other things), plus guests including violinist Nils Okland and sax player from Ultralyd. And it seems that producer Sir Dupermann may well play a crucial role on this album as well, he's credited with "samples and sounds everywhere" and those are definitely all over the place here. TLFIS's busy pop songs are full of sound FX and samples, things like sawing strings and birdsongs and outer space electronics. While the male and female vocals are usually quite calm and melodic, the music is much more nervous and noisy. It always sorta sounds like there's a clock ticking someplace in the mix. Alongside the band's assorted guitars, throbbing bass, trumpet, piano, & all those organs, etc....
In the comparisons dep't, we can offer that maybe LFIS is like a groovier, pop version of another RG band, Shining? Referencing a couple other Norwegian acts we like, When and Salvatore, also seems valid. Throw in a little bit of the B-52s and that's getting closer to what's going on here. Recommended, though we'd have probably preferred it if they'd done all the singing in Norwegian, for added mystery.
Amy Davis and Jon Moritsugu are on the loose again! You might be more familiar with their combined coolness via other avenues - Amy's stylin' art and graphic design (she was a regular contributor to Paper Magazine for years and years) and Jon's ultra punk indie films (Mod Fuck Explosion, Scum Rock, Fame Whore to name a few!). Never ones to shy away from a creative whim or flight of fancy, nor ones to ever be pinned down. This time they're whippin' up an indie rock fun storm in their new band Low On High. Over the past decade they've hopped from here in SF to Hawaii to a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest and are now settled in New Mexico... all pretty chill locales, yes? But the raucous music they're makin' still sounds deeply rooted with one foot in the big city lip-glossy glitzy fashionista scenes. Moritsugu tackles the guitar while Davis plays bass and delivers most of the vocals in a druggy, woozy petulant swoon. Very DIY, free spirited, and more than a little rough around the edges, Low On High is very reminiscent of early '90s lo-fi pop rawk, and inspired by the likes of Sonic Youth, Jesus And Mary Chain and grrrl punk. Noisy distorted tunes with a candy crunch core and glamor puss accessories!
Here's the sophomore album from SF's Low Red Land! It finds the band traversing more rocky and turbulent territory than on their 2006 debut Weight Of Nations. Dog's Hymn is laden with far stormier moods, darker tones, and increasingly weathered vocals. Layers of churning post rock guitar lines build densely overcast atmospheres. Overall, still very emotively reminiscent of Doug Martsch (both in Treepeople and Built To Spill) in its cathartic delivery especially on tracks such as "Better Angels" and "West Texas", but also brings to mind The Weakerthans or a more rocked up Mountain Goats. Good stuff!
This is the debut album from Bay Area indie rockers Low Red Land. The band wastes no time in stepping up to the plate to take a swing at the emotive smart pop ball being played by the likes of Pinback, Built To Spill, and Modest Mouse. Plenty of punch, big fuzzy guitars, emo boy vocals and some nice rhythmic twists.
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The humorful fourth issue of the New York based mag The Lowbrow Reader features an article written by Neil Michael Hagerty titled My TV Don't Work No More: A Tribute To 'Wings'... yes, the tv show not the band! Another highlight is an interview with journalist Margeaux Watson about her experiences interviewing Ol' Dirty Bastard. There's also writings about Larry David and Jackie Mason, a handful of haiku and assorted comics and illustrations packed into the 32 pages. Neat!
It's been a bit of a wait since the last issue of this New York comedy themed mag was published back in the fall of 2004, but the slightly more biting Issue 5 was well worth the wait! Neil Michael Hagerty reappears with his tribute to Don Knotts. There's a comicstrip about a visit by Jack White to the editor's apartment for a Time Out New York interview, as well as a couple of articles unfurling the pros and cons of Chevy Chase. A wry, entertaining read.
Well, although the date on the latest issue of The Lowbrow Reader says "summer" and it's barely spring, we can appreciate LBR's eagerness for the warmth of the sun. Heck, we were just as eager to receive this long awaited comedy-centric mag! New Yorkers Jay Ruttenberg and Neil Hagerty (yes, that Neil Hagerty!) are the driving forces behind this 36-page witzine. Included are editorials on Gene Wilder and overlooked comedies, as well as a survey asking celebrity folks (Patton Oswalt, Randy Newman, and John Waters among them) the question: "What Should We Do With America's CEOs? As always, cleanly laid out and well illustrated so that your chuckles, laffs and guffaws can be let loose unencumbered.
Finally a new issue of this dandy New York zine! Neil Michael Hagerty (y'know, of Royal Trux, Howling Hex, etc.) is still the "writer at large" for this wry, wit filled tome, and this time he's joined in Lowbrow Reader land by David and Shelley Berman (aka Silver Jews) among a dozen or so other contributors. This issue features editorials on comedians Don Rickles and John Mulaney, articles about novelist Gilbert Rogin, overlooked comedy flicks circa 1968 through 1983. Always a good, entertaining read and re-read! 32 pages.
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During these chilly months we seek any and every way to warm up. While it isn't quite as effective as an electric blanket or a roaring fireplace, a hearty belly laugh does help a bit! Enter the latest issue of The Lowbrow Reader zine from NYC, once again featuring contributions from the likes of Royal Trux's Neil Michael Hagerty, Silver Jews' David Berman, and Duplex Planet's David Greenberger. Topics covered within: Adam Sandler's movie 'Billy Madison', clowns, the elderly, and some music. That said, the absolute highlight of the zine though is a brief interview with Muhammad Ali. Yeah, holy shit!
Oh, and by the way, if you've missed previous issues, we do still have a couple of Issue #7, but we've just heard that Drag City will be publishing a Lowbrow Reader anthology in the near future. We'll keep you posted!
Our favorite 'zine devoted entirely to comedy (theory & practice) is back! The big feature this issue is an appreciation of none other than Gilbert Gottfried ("New York Punk"), and Gilbert himself contributes two pages of cartoon artwork. There's also an interesting historical piece about Funnyman, a failed 1940's comic book hero created by Superman's Siegel & Shuster. And much more, including fun bits penned by the likes of Rick Moranis. If you like to laugh, or think about laughter, and the people who make us laugh, this is the 'zine for you!
Nick Lowe had a huge influence on the early years of punk and new wave, working on albums by folks like The Damned, Elvis Costello and The Pretenders. But when it comes down to it, Nick Lowe is all about pure pop chops. His debut, released originally in 1978, is finally getting the proper reissue treatment it deserves including all the tracks issued on the UK and US versions along with eight extra tracks! As smart as they are clever and catchy these songs have always made us think of what it would sound like if Elvis Costello did a record of Harry Nilsson covers. With a sly sense of humor and a knack for infectious hooks, Jesus Of Cool (also released at one point under the title Pure Pop For Now People) still stands as one of Lowe's greatest moments. Chances are you've heard and loved some of these songs before without knowing that this was the record they were from, if that's the case, you might have a new old fave here.
Collaboration number two from Robert Lowe (of Lichens) and visual artist Rose Lazar. The first was a small bound book of artwork, that came with a 3" cd featuring Lowe's gorgeous hazy soundscapes created with just voice and effects, while the book was filled with Lazar's mysterious multi colored geometric artwork.
This latest release once again features music by Lowe, but this time, he's using a series of monophonic and polyphonic synthesizers to create burbling, shimming, blissed out synthkrautdronemusik, that seems to perfectly reflect the prismatic textural artwork on the sleeve (more on that in a second).
Opening track "Crayon Gym" is total Klaus Schulze / Tangerine Dream / Neu! krautworship, pulsing and throbbing, rhythmic and hypnotic, while the next track "Fantomoj De La Vitro Domo", is way more Carpenter / Goblin style creep, haunting minor key melodies, moody swirling ambience, with some swooping sweeping effects, but still mesmerizing and a bit psychedelic. The whole record is an ever evolving, sun dappled and starlit sprawl of slow shifting synth textures, dipping into krautrock, new age, free drone, and blurring them into a dreamlike expanse of lush and psychedelic krautsynth shimmer.
The record comes housed in a massive 6 panel, two sided, 36" x 12" fold out sleeve, adorned with artwork from both Lowe and Lazar, strange tangled bits of pen and ink, weeping clouds, mysterious caves, smeared rainbows, and piles of diamonds.
Ooh! A hyperlimited LP from Robert Lowe, better known now for his work as Lichens and with Om, better known than for being in nineties indie noise rockers 90 Day Men. Recently, those Lichens recordings have oozed a cosmic vibe of enveloping transcendence through looping vocals and shimmering guitars; and through Om, he's been instrumental in furthering the Middle Eastern dervish vibe in Om's live sets (as of this writing, it's unclear if he'll join the band in the studio). That said, it's all electronics for Lowe on this LP-only, micro-edition pressing. The first side sinks into a side-long excursion that glides along a sedate hypnotic groove of downer electronic bass pulses, which almost has a hyper stripped down Tricky-meets-Conrad Schnitzler slinkiness to the rhythm. Filter swept tonal bendings and pixie-dusted melodies float about the laid back rhythms. Chill-out music, indeed. The second side contains five shorter cuts of library music redux with spiralling arpeggiations and weird-science bloopiness that fits perfectly into the Oneohtrix Point Never / Pulse Emitter camp of electronic meditations. The titles all give you a chance to bone up on your Esperanto! Only 300 copies!
Third in Thrill Jockey's limited edition cd/book releases, following the Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot from aQ fave Daniel Higgs of Lungfish. Whereas Higgs' was a regular sized full color book, this one, from Rob Lowe, aka Lichens, and artist Rose Lazar is pocket sized, a little perfect bound book, one side is illustrations by Lowe, flip it over, and the other side features illustrations by Lazar.
Both Lowe and Lazar share a very similar style, unclear if that's always the case, or if they chose to emulate a certain style just for this release, but it's quite striking, tribal andelaborate, crystals and raindrops, clouds and rainbows, lots of stippling and tiny lines, geometric shapes, disembodied hands, mysterious text, toadstools. Lazar's half is much more childlike and innocent, while Lowe's is a bit more detailed, with lots of tiny lines and miniature shapes, more sort of spiritual, while Lazar's is more playful.
The accompanying cd is a single 15 minute piece, split into movements, of original music from Lowe, who normally performs under the name Lichens, typically using only his voice and a handful of effects, creating ghostly shimmery soundscapes. But here, Lowe is using all manner of soundmakers, certainly keyboards or synths of some kind, the result is an airy, glistening, sparkly modern new age. Little flurries of synth notes are looped over and over into a very krautrock like mantra, in the second movements, those flurries are smoothed out into something much more tranquil, a whirring backdrop for a super minimal raga, bits of subtle buzz, and strange bits of percussion, all very woozy and dreamy and Eastern sounding, the final movement melds the two, bits of buzz and whir are sent hurling into the void, through clouds of glimmery spaced out effects, blissy and softly tripped out, perfectly complementing both artist's drawings in the book. Metaphysical, abstract, dreamlike and mysterious.
While they last we have the ultra limited version, which feature the cover on both sides hand painted by each artist, and come housed in a screen printed cloth bag. Once these are gone, you'll get the normal version, which is slightly cheaper.
We Know Each Other Somehow is an apt title for a meeting of two sonically cosmic minds from different generations in this latest Frkwys collaboration from the RVNG label. We have long been fans of both new ager Ariel Kalma (who recently got his own archival survey from the RVNG label) and Robert A. A. Lowe (90 Day Men, Lichens, OM). Having hosted a mesmerizing modular synth in-store performance recently with Lowe, we can definitely say this collaboration is a perfect match-up of cosmic synthesis, pastoral jazz dreaminess and an intriguingly rhythmic new age Balearic-Kraut revelry, with both artists bringing their distinct voices together in ways that reflect the past but also welcome the future. Includes a DVD, documenting the collaboration. A welcome addition to this incredible series!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
We've been fans of Jana Hunter's from her first split with Devendra Banhart a few years back. Here with her new band project, Lower Dens, Hunter shakes off her usual singer-songwriter mode and gives us a more beautifully atmospheric indie-rock side that we just can't stop listening too. With big crunchy distorted dueling guitar riffs, driving rhythms and reverbed vocals that have a more urgent and energetic feel sort of like vintage PJ Harvey fronting early Deerhunter, while occasionally veering down a hazy and somnolent path giving off a Low or Galaxie 500 vibe. Plus some of the song titles are hilariously vivid, especially the last one, "Two Cocks Waving Wildly At Each Other Across A Vast Open Space, A Dark Icy Tundra". How can you not be curious? Probably one of the most rocking and energetic albums we have heard on this label. Solid!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
This SF drums and guitar duo has added a bassist for their sophomore release. Maybe you'll catch them opening for the Melvins on tour.
