Do You Know How to POLLtz?: ILM Artist Poll #111 - Low

can't really get my mind around a Low ballot but I finally saw Alan Sparhawk's Neil Young cover band last night and it was such an amazing show. didn't know "Powderfinger" could still get to me like that.

^very jealous

Just working on my ballot. I'm glancing at a songlist rather than doing a big re-listen though.

I recommend anyone who's doing a last-minute ballot to give 'Soon' a listen - such a beautiful track. I'm not sure what it's actually about, but its always a source of comfort for me in difficult times - often it'll slip into my head - "soon it will be over" yes - thank you - i needed to hear that Low.

didn't know "Powderfinger" could still get to me like that.

oh dang, i'd love to see that

i'm happy to extend the voting period as needed, i'll see how people are doing in a few days.

i think at this point it doesn't seem likely that there'll be enough 50 track ballots to really be worth including in full though, sorry to those that were interested in that

I won't be able to put together a ballot until after Sunday. Would you mind extending a week? or is that too much time?

TIL “…I Love” is a cover of a Tom T Hall song he took to #1 on the country chart in the 70s. Sounds great with Mimi singing as do most songs.

Man I just watched the video for Monkey and now I'm not sure I can rank any of these.

great video and one of my favorite songs of theirs. The Great Destroyer was not loved as much as other Low albums when it came out or since, but it in retrospect is one of my favorites.

as far as the videos go, if I get around to voting I will have to vote for Breaker from Drums and Guns (not one of my favorite Low albums) because of the masochistic video, where Alan stuffs an entire frosted layer cake into his mouth with his fists as Mimi and Matt Livingston stand behind him with vacant stares, clapping to the music

the last couple of days, going back and listening to them in order, the songs from Trust also stand out to me

i went from being lukewarm on 'trust' to now thinking it's top 5 albums for me

My ballot leans newer Low, perhaps because I started there, but almost every album has one or two glorious moments at a minimum. Even some of the Invisible Way songs grew on me, might have made my ballot if we extended to 50

(That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace is so great

'Trust' always felt underrated, to me. I liked it better than 'Fire,' which seemed so beloved.

"The Lamb" is amazing!

I think "texture" will win against "melody" in my ballot, and it just happens that their later career has added whole new layers and complexity to their sound, whereas the many similar delicate ditties crowd each other out.
I'm really curious to know in what order the openers will come out in the results.

my favourites are typically where they're at their best at both texture and melody

i am happy to extend voting up to a week if that would help more people get ballots in. i know octobeard would like a week, do others need that too?

I should be able to get a ballot in before the end of this weekend.

I think "texture" will win against "melody" in my ballot, and it just happens that their later career has added whole new layers and complexity to their sound, whereas the many similar delicate ditties crowd each other out.

this is a false dichotomy, and an inaccurate one at that. spend more time with the older albums.

I know I've hammered home my preference for the early albums everywhere on this board, but it's plain insulting to dismiss them as "similar delicate ditties."

xxp I don't want to hold things up for everyone else but I wouldn't mind an extra week. I'm pretty good on my top 20 but have been struggling to rank anything beyond that, basically a 50 way tie for #21 at this point.

could use a couple more days. I don't think I will have one ready by tomorrow

I'd also like a few more days.

I'm really liking Witches from C'mon

Witches is my favourite on that album - the guitar part glows like burnished metal.

yes. I also like the broad haphazard lyrics which could mean anything

hearing The Invisible Way again I like it more than I thought I would. At the time I felt sure that that was finally it for the band, but in retrospect it is an interlude, and the open, natural live-sounding live quality of it is nice

Just Make It Stop is a really great pop song

yes, and So Blue is also great. Mimi comes through

going to go ahead and extend the deadline a week, until 21 november, seems like there's enough demand for that to be worthwhile

the invisible way might be their least essential album but it's still not at all a bad album & manages to do something distinct within their vast catalogue. i really like "on my own" at the very least

thank you ufo

Love the guitar solo second part of “On My Own”, definitely a highlight from The Invisible Way.

very heavy

there isn't a single bad Low album

Listening to Low - and in particular Trust - always makes me think of The Paradise Motel, whose first album had very Trust vibes some six years before the fact. But it’s always weird playing Low and then playing something vaguely like Low straight afterwards - they make everything else seem a bit impatient, rushed, too anxious to climax by comparison. Strange to think of The Paradise Motel - so reserved and cautious - in those terms, but there it is. Low makes other music sound overly driven by stage directions.

from the Pitchfork Trust review:

“And then came 2001's Things We Lost in the Fire. Low, it seemed, had suddenly realized that their songwriting could not sustain with reverb alone, and hired producer Steve Albini and a group of contributors with more explorative backgrounds, resulting in their freshest-sounding album to date. One would expect this to carry over to their follow-up, the newly released Trust. In fact, it doesn't. Only now do Low seem to be struggling with the constraints of their genre. The album preserves their defining qualities: superb lyricism and powerful tension. But it's missing two key elements of Low's last outing. That is, the engaging songs and captivating production.”

The opposite seems true to me. Things We Lost in the Fire has good songs but the production is so polished that it kind of sets them a little at a distance. (It’s still a great album.) Almost every song on Trust is great, the ambience is dark, and the production makes them feel immediate. Looking at their reviews over the years, Pitchfork got a lot wrong about Low

speaking of Things We Lost in the Fire, "Kind of Girl" reminds me of Elliott Smith

Is there a handy list of just the cover versions Low have done? To help with that poll category. Sorry if this question has already been asked and answered.

La La La Song could be from the Magnetic Fields

I managed to be on time in the end.
I have seven openers in my top 20 and six songs in total from my #1 album. I nearly thought I would not vote for Lullaby then thought better of it. I also left out a lot of their longer songs except from Trust. Didn't have time to send to Table for a check on accuracy and rightness, but overall quite happy about my ballot.

If you suckers delay this poll you run the risk of the band releasing something else awesome.

I'm pretty sure their press kit is peppered with all sorts of bad takes for lots of (reasonable) reasons. For one, it's hard to know how an album or its songs will stand the test of time; turns out in Low's case ... pretty well! I think also a lot of writers assume that a band that's been good or great for several albums is bound to take a slip eventually so are more or less primed or predisposed to write that review at every turn, but in Low's case ... no real slips! Third, as we've talked about here, the band's evolution has been slow but steady, with what initially might seem a case of "here we go again" in retrospect turning out to be a vital part of the band's progress. For example, "Ones and Sixes," it got a pretty positive response, but not quite on par with that accorded the next two, because my god, *no one* expected the next two.

It's been remarkable listening to how the production has radically altered our response to what has been at least on paper a seemingly pretty predictable framework, and all credit to the band for recognizing the importance of taking risks within said framework, which has turned out to be far more flexible than many might have predicted.

And hey, they've somehow managed to remain an incredible live act to boot, which is like icing on the cake.

I just noticed reading through the liner notes of Trust that one of the additional musicians was Brad Nelson.

want to throw “Songs for a Dead POLLot” out there for the results title.

Can I POLL It For a Week

Poll was not supposed to make you cry

It sounds like polls in my ears

I am the poll and I'm a dead man

Submitted. That was painful.

Their live show in Eindhoven from 2009 is stunning. They recorded it a cathedral with a small chorus + a couple extra musicians.
A full version of the show used to be out there. Now it seems only a few songs are available via a free EP they released in 2010. Anyway well worth seeking out.

Did a little digging into the few post-'A Lifetime of Temporary Hope' rarities that I didn't already know.

The jewel (along with the Japan-only 'Double Negative' track "It's All Been Done") seems to be "Not A Word," from a 2016 split 10". Very much verging on the 'Double Negative' sound and approach, pushing forward a lot from 'Ones & Sixes'. Worth seeking out. Don't know if it would make my top 30, but another piece of the puzzle for their immense creative resurgence over the last few years.

https://www.discogs.com/release/8393991-Low--S-Carey-Not-A-Word-I-Wont-Let-You-Fall

the story behind that split is low & s. carey both had an unfinished track each & bj burton brought them together to collaborate on finishing both of them for the split. it's pretty good

"Not A Word" is streamable here:

https://soundcloud.com/b-sse-265281877/sets/low-s-carey