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
― Dan S, Sunday, 14 November 2021 00:50 (two years ago) link
Just Make It Stop is a really great pop song
― I'm a sovereign jizz citizen (the table is the table), Sunday, 14 November 2021 01:26 (two years ago) link
yes, and So Blue is also great. Mimi comes through
― Dan S, Sunday, 14 November 2021 01:30 (two years ago) link
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
― ufo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 01:33 (two years ago) link
thank you ufo
― Dan S, Sunday, 14 November 2021 01:38 (two years ago) link
Love the guitar solo second part of “On My Own”, definitely a highlight from The Invisible Way.
― Tim F, Sunday, 14 November 2021 02:39 (two years ago) link
very heavy
there isn't a single bad Low album
― Dan S, Sunday, 14 November 2021 03:23 (two years ago) link
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.
― Tim F, Sunday, 14 November 2021 03:38 (two years ago) link
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
― Dan S, Sunday, 14 November 2021 04:05 (two years ago) link
speaking of Things We Lost in the Fire, "Kind of Girl" reminds me of Elliott Smith
― Dan S, Sunday, 14 November 2021 04:09 (two years ago) link
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.
― Jeff W, Sunday, 14 November 2021 13:59 (two years ago) link
La La La Song could be from the Magnetic Fields
― Nabozo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 14:00 (two years ago) link
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.
― Nabozo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 15:26 (two years ago) link
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.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 14 November 2021 15:40 (two years ago) link
I just noticed reading through the liner notes of Trust that one of the additional musicians was Brad Nelson.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Sunday, 14 November 2021 16:19 (two years ago) link
want to throw “Songs for a Dead POLLot” out there for the results title.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Sunday, 14 November 2021 16:34 (two years ago) link
Can I POLL It For a Week
― donna rouge, Sunday, 14 November 2021 16:46 (two years ago) link
Poll was not supposed to make you cry
― Nabozo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 17:12 (two years ago) link
It sounds like polls in my ears
― Nabozo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 17:15 (two years ago) link
I am the poll and I'm a dead man
― Nabozo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 17:17 (two years ago) link
Submitted. That was painful.
― Long enough attention span for a Stephen Bissette blu-ray extra (aldo), Sunday, 14 November 2021 18:16 (two years ago) link
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.
― that's not my post, Sunday, 14 November 2021 18:42 (two years ago) link
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
― Soundslike, Sunday, 14 November 2021 20:55 (two years ago) link
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
― ufo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 20:58 (two years ago) link
"Not A Word" is streamable here:
https://soundcloud.com/b-sse-265281877/sets/low-s-carey
― Soundslike, Sunday, 14 November 2021 20:59 (two years ago) link
Realise now I've left off Half-Light.
― Long enough attention span for a Stephen Bissette blu-ray extra (aldo), Sunday, 14 November 2021 21:13 (two years ago) link
Finding I'm quite comfortable with my Albums list, but could probably keep rearranging +/- 75 tracks into a top 30 Tracks list endlessly...
So going to give up and send in the list tonight.
― Soundslike, Sunday, 14 November 2021 21:44 (two years ago) link
corrections/changes to ballots are easy to make if you want to
― ufo, Sunday, 14 November 2021 21:59 (two years ago) link
Is it giving too much away / vote tampering to discuss our ballots in terms of number of tracks per release, without giving away our albums or tracks lists?
― Soundslike, Sunday, 14 November 2021 22:12 (two years ago) link
If it's not too difficult then can I put Half Light in below Don't Understand and shift everything else down 1?
If it's a pain then I'm fine with it.
― Long enough attention span for a Stephen Bissette blu-ray extra (aldo), Sunday, 14 November 2021 22:21 (two years ago) link
Is "Landslide" (Ones & Sixes) just a faster version of "Don't Understand" (Things We Lost in the Fire)?
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 14 November 2021 22:47 (two years ago) link
I've just sent in my pollI whittled my list down from 122 favourites and it got harder with every cut!
― treefell, Sunday, 14 November 2021 22:54 (two years ago) link
Nabozo, it's just clear to me that you and I have completely opposite sensibilities when it comes to this band, and admittedly, I feel protective of the early records because they've meant a lot to me over the years. I encourage you to listen to them more carefully and maybe one day you'll recognize why Secret Name or Trust are as powerful as Double Negative, if not more so
― I'm a sovereign jizz citizen (the table is the table), Sunday, 14 November 2021 23:11 (two years ago) link
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!…― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, November 14, 2021
I liked that they had moved on, but didn’t really enjoy Ones and Sixes when it came out, I thought it was a not altogether successful foray into an electronic sound and it initially felt slightly impoverished to me like Drums and Guns did earlier
Now hearing it again after the two recent albums I can see where it was coming from and it sounds subtle and really good. The individual songs don’t necessarily stand out (except Landslide) and it is lighter than those, but in retrospect it is mysterious and self-effacing and is unlike anything else they’ve done
― Dan S, Monday, 15 November 2021 00:12 (two years ago) link
the adjustment in textural focuses between tracks is painstakingly tuned on o&s, and the songs feel like they're written to emphasize that? which helps make it feel bigger-than-the-sum, regardless of opinion about the individual songs― ri, Friday, November 5, 2021
makes complete sense to me
― Dan S, Monday, 15 November 2021 00:16 (two years ago) link
Deadline is technically up, can I still sneak mine in?
― licorice in the front, pizza in the rear (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 15 November 2021 00:26 (two years ago) link
it's been extended for another week I think (at least I hope)
― Dan S, Monday, 15 November 2021 00:27 (two years ago) link
I actually think the songwriting on Ones and Sixes is really strong for the most part?
"No Comprende" in particular has some of my favourite Low lyrics, and the interplay of Alan and Mimi's vocals here is some of the most thoughtful of any song of theirs - in particular how Mimi clearly plays the part of the "you" in Alan's lyrics, such that almost paradoxically a song about a failure of communication becomes a dialogue (it's like a highly abstracted version of Taylor Swift and Justin Vernon's "Exile").
Relatedly, the shift from the first half to the second half of "Gentle" - it feels both inevitable and like a totally different song.
― Tim F, Monday, 15 November 2021 00:27 (two years ago) link
yes it's been extended for a week, plenty of time still
― ufo, Monday, 15 November 2021 00:35 (two years ago) link
xpost Ones & Sixes, I first encountered Congregation as soundtrack to a brutal fight scene in Devs. I ended up listening to it on repeat and ultimately put it fairly high on my ballot.
― that's not my post, Monday, 15 November 2021 00:50 (two years ago) link
No Comprende is a force
you can't just throw it in the traileryou've got to stack so it's stablegot to wind up all the cables
andYou say it out loudOur house is on fireYou better get out now
like a lot of their other songs, not sure what it means but it is very intriguing and the music is memorable
― Dan S, Monday, 15 November 2021 00:59 (two years ago) link
there's a little bit of a spaghetti western quality about some of their music
― Dan S, Monday, 15 November 2021 01:02 (two years ago) link
xpost Ones & Sixes, I first encountered Congregation as soundtrack to a brutal fight scene in Devs
Heh, I watched that episode about a week after I first heard the album. It certainly solidified it as a standout track on that album for me
While we're on the subject of Low songs in TV shows, I thought the show Rectify used "Silver Rider" to beautiful effect, in one of the pivotal moments of that show
― Vinnie, Monday, 15 November 2021 01:28 (two years ago) link
did we talk about Robert Plant's cover of Silver Rider? it's ok but not a patch on the Low version. Really misses Mimi's high notes on the la-la-la in the chorus.
― that's not my post, Monday, 15 November 2021 04:00 (two years ago) link
he seems to be a huge fan of the great destroyer, he's convered quite a few tracks off it
― ufo, Monday, 15 November 2021 04:21 (two years ago) link
― Dan S, Monday, November 15, 2021 1:12 AM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
The songs are lighter but intense and captivating and the sound is fuller, so it feels like an emancipation, a balance. The electronic touches add a lot of cold-warm atmosphere, you can imagine landscapes and snow storms, which work excellently as a backdrop to the vulnerability. There is no song that approaches a "definitive Low statement", but each song is both intimate and expansive, and together they feel very comfortable, easy and natural. My #1 is from the album and I have neither Landslide nor What part of me on my ballot and I even reluctantly had to let go of DJ. I don't know if it's their best, but I find it's the album where all the different facets of their sound came together.
― Nabozo, Monday, 15 November 2021 08:52 (two years ago) link
Another thing that poll has brought home is what an incredible voice / vocalist Alan is.
― Nabozo, Monday, 15 November 2021 08:55 (two years ago) link
Thank you, ufo! You have one ballot that wouldn't have made it with the original deadline incoming, at least.
― octobeard, Monday, 15 November 2021 17:37 (two years ago) link
Really wish we'd gone with 50. I'm at 35 right now. Impossible choices.
― I'm a sovereign jizz citizen (the table is the table), Monday, 15 November 2021 18:06 (two years ago) link
Album and covers all done, but tracks are just impossible.
― I'm a sovereign jizz citizen (the table is the table), Monday, 15 November 2021 18:07 (two years ago) link