Low: Classic or classic?

I think they're alright, I think their obvious dedication to their sound and art is fairly admirable, but the resulting records don't move me (the Christmas one is quite nice).

In some of the praise of them there's an undertow of virtues-of- simplicity stuff, and I can see why - when I listen to Low the word that often comes to mind is 'quaint'. You feel a little better for owning a Low record, I suppose, like a piece of handmade furniture or something. They're not classic.

ha I never said on this thread that 'the curtain hits the cast' is one of my few most favorite albums ever.

i watched that low documentary on cable last nite. maaaaaaaan, was that boring. not even two members of napalm death could pep things up. HOW IRONIC LOW DUDE THEY ARE IN NAPALM DEATH AND YOU ARE IN LOW AND YOU ARE IN THE SAME BUILDING WHAT ARE THE ODDS. on the other hand, it made me want to listen to low records. i do like low. and watching low live from my couch is, if you ask me, the best friggin' place on earth to watch low live.

hahah, interesting post. a boring documentary that made you wanna listen to the records. i can see that. good documentary i guess, rather slow, i own it but have only watched it once, so far.

the live footage is indeed superb.

that's the Low In Europe thing, right? I've got that DVD too, should really watch it again too

they should have set up the most boring people alive premise even more than they did. they sould have called the doc: HOW LOW CAN YOU GO:THE DIRTY DULUTH 3 LAY WASTE TO EUROPE! with girls gone wild cover art.

Maybe the sequel will be even lower

Low & Lowerer, with new bass player Jim Carrey

ultimately characterless and forgettable

lol. Heard Drums and Guns?

it hadn't been released back then

i have "low in europe" and only got halfway through it. hmm. and as you all know, i adore them.

vvv tickled to see the original post -- it was alex who got me into low, some ... fucking hell, 12 years ago now. christ.

which album do I listen to right now if I've never heard any of them before? quick!

I think The Great Destroyer is very accessible, so that may be a good entry point. But I guess Things We Lost In The Fire might be a more representative disc.

A handful of songs on the new disc (called Drums and Guns) are also an excellent introduction to the band. Try, for example, this killer (no pun intended) version of Murderer, from a live, in-studio performance last year.

Things We Lost in the Fire is a great introduction. I'd also recommend Secret Name, which was my intro, also very good.

Things We Lost in the Fire, definitely. Worked for me at least, from the first chord change.

Anyone see that film about Low that's now showing on Pitchfork.tv? It's called You Might Need A Murderer. I didn't know how troubled Alan Spearhawk was. Semi-boring film, but a totally compelling band.

Oh it's on Pitchfork.tv? Sweet, I saw it in the local record store today and passed on it ($20 brand new) but i'll totally watch it for free. One of my all time favorite bands, love these guys.

npr interview with the sparhawks a while ago that touched on his issues

Catch it now, Stephen. It's the "One Week Only" feature on Pitchfork.tv.

That NPR interview is fascinating. Sparhawk dances around his problems some, but this is the first time I've heard he was suicidal.

Thanks Daniel, I'll be sure to check it out Sunday morning when i get up :D

Retribution Gospel Choir (Alan's new, catchier, LOUD, rock band) played a sparsely attended show in Montreal on Friday that was fucking amazing. PLayed their hearts out for we seated folk, left my ears so happily ringing. Was sad to see him loading up the van alone in the street afterward (last time I saw Low it was at ATP with another 1000 people). If Retribution Gospel Choir come to chez toi, go go go. terrific.

Low have subtley crept, over the course of about ten years, into the position of being my favorite existing band.

"subtly"

Some good discussion on this thread, methinks.

Retribution Gospel Choir (Alan's new, catchier, LOUD, rock band) played a sparsely attended show in Montreal on Friday that was fucking amazing.

ARGH I was on the list for this but couldn't go, damn you, job.

I've seen them 7-8 times since 1997 and have observed as the venue/audience size has grown in tandem with the expanse of the band's dynamic (louder choruses, distortion pedals and such). The songs from their last few records are perfectly suited to the mid-size theatres they play these days. But my favorite gigs were one in the mid-to-late 90's, when they would come through the Ann Arbor/Detroit area quite regularly and play at little hole-in-the-wall spots: The (small) audience would generally sit on the floor and remain dead silent until the band finished playing (save for the occasional applause). There was a communal reverence, churchlike almost, unlike anything else I've experienced at rock gigs (even a "seated" Yo La Tengo show from their And Then Nothing.. tour, in which the band/venue provided the audience with folding chairs, didn't come close). It was a beautiful thing to be a part of, really.

I totally get that. I'm sure you'd agree, though, that they deserve all the additional attention -- and higher audience attendance at shows -- that they now get. I'm with you: Low has become one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, band of the moment.

I'll third that. Best band going today.

i saw RGC a few years back with Kozelek and they were alright but the drummer was really stiff; if it's the same guy I'm sure they've loosened up a bit. I'm assuming Kozelek isn't on this tour.

the best thing they played though was a crazy ass cover of "the carpet crawlers"

I'm sure you'd agree, though, that they deserve all the additional attention -- and higher audience attendance at shows

Yeah, it has actually been very rewarding to watch a humble little band like Low build and expand their aesthetic over the years, and at the same time gain popularity because of the sheer quality of their art. Even thought I have those fond memories of tiny quiet shows, I have no problem sharing Low with The World.

Strictly in terms of popularity, though, I know Low is bigger in Europe than The States, at least circa early-2000s. Was it that way in the mid-to-late 90's too? I'd been used to Low concerts being generally as described above. But then, in 2000, I moved to Dublin for college and twice saw Low in sold-out concerts at The Olympia, a fairly large theatre (fantastic shows both, one with cello!).

"thought" = though

stop all the clocks, quieten all the whisperings about low's republican tendencies:

low are playing an obama benefit somewhere.

they're also doing christmas shows in the uk, in november.

Haven't given in to temptation yet--but very encouraged to hear it sounds like Low is staying at the weirder end of their spectrum. I love weird Low.

When the RIAA knock down my door and ask why I did it, I'll point them to Josh in Chicago's last post

it's the good sort of sequel, where they're continuing what they were doing on Double Negative but not just repeating themselves

Double Negative was really submerged in a sea of noise but this time they're sailing on top of it more

the opening track is everything I ever wanted from them

unsurprisingly this is good as hell. "more" is like their "velocity girl" or some shit, wonderful little nugget that adds a lot to the album in two minutes. I have a hard time imagining anyone who liked DN being disappointed with this.

I've gotten so much enjoyment out of this band for close to 30 years and rarely had to pay for a thing (legally), but goddammit I just bought a t-shirt.

i saw them as part of a festival so it was a one-off (i think) so there wasn't any merch

I bought a ticket for a Low show in May '22 - these crazy times, still

I followed Josh in Chicago's good example and bought a shirt. This album goes from "pretty dang good!" to "this is unreal" right after Days Like These.

I was like, "well I can hold out a few more weeks...." not realizing it's still two more months! Damn, this is going to be a rough wait.

double negative was a distant transmission from another planet and on this one it's actually happening there, if that makes any sense

A friend said "they went from disintegrating to evaporating" and I think that's on the same level, ufo. Makes sense to me.

Low definitely put out some of the weirdest merch in the past - the fridge magnet lyrics tin is special but why I have a Low pillowcase is anyone's guess...

is the artwork a 3d/hologram type thing? their site seems to suggest so: https://www.chairkickers.com/

The new one and the last one, without trying to be hyperbolic, they sound like someone waking up one morning and just somehow knowing a new language, and then immediately trying to do something with that new language. Or, I dunno, discovering a new tuning, or finding a new color. Totally in line with everything else they've done but done totally different than everything else they've made. I also love the idea of music (like these last two albums) that are literally impossible to replicate live. Perform, sure, and they were amazing on the last tour. But the music as recorded, however clearly fussed over ... I don't know, I think it's fascinating that they had to write these songs, with lyrics and melodies, then record them, blow them up, bend them out of shape, destroy them and rebuild them in the studio, and then, live, they have to do it all over again, finding their way back to each song's roots and melodies, because the sonic stuff of the recent is exclusively a product of studio experiments.

Low definitely put out some of the weirdest merch in the past - the fridge magnet lyrics tin is special but why I have a Low pillowcase is anyone's guess...

― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Thursday, July 8, 2021 bookmarkflaglink

I love my Double Negative dishtowel.

Also one of my favorite band t-shirts ever was from a real early Low show - I think it was around the time of Curtain Hits the Cast. It was basically the Jaws movie poster - a blue t-shirt with the shark rising out of the water, teeth bared, and in big bold orange letters, LOW.

bj burton is a fucking genius and is the sound of RIGHT NOW.

the cover art thing is called spectral decoding. bright eyes did it with cassadaga

cool, thanks!

I don't really know much about Burton and was surprised how pop-oriented much of his production work is. But I did find this crazy accurate interview quote from a couple of years back:

... bands you’re highly motivated to work with because of their back catalogue?

“Have you heard of the band Low? They’ve never written a bad song. They put out an acoustic album and I had this vision of pushing them to make the most beautiful, distorted, post-apocalyptic record – the sort of thing you’d find 2,000 years ago if you dug the earth up. We made that record and it’s one of the favourite albums I’ve ever made.”

It looks like he posted a bunch to this thread about the making of Double Negative:

https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1261587-lows-double-negative-sound-awesome-production-info.html

This is a good summation:

I got a lot of **** from mastering engineers, so I ended up mastering it myself...those guys are so scared. but if it sounds good, and the soul is there, then it will translate. no rules

From that interview I learned that Alan uses a lot of Red Panda's Particle pedal, which, when you hear this ...yeah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXUfj6y4NO0

I don't really know much about Burton and was surprised how pop-oriented much of his production work is.

apart from his work with Low, he's probably best known for being part of Bon Iver's inner circle, co-writing & playing a ton of stuff on their last two albums & occasionally being a touring member

his work on last year's Charli album was fantastic & full of the noise he's known for with Low. the Japanese House album was also excellent

i wanna hear him work with Lambchop next, he'd be really well aligned with their direction the last few albums

This is pretty great, taking some of the strands of Double Negative and running with them. it has a distinctly different mood but with mostly the same toolbox. "Hey" is the big standout to me so far, it's beautiful

Also yeah, between Charli, Japanese House, and Low, I've loved every Burton production that I've heard

I'd forgotten all about Charli XCX, I'll have to check that out. Looks like Burton has produced a ton of stuff I've never even heard of. The Empress Of, Kacy Hill, Banks, Francis and the Lights ... I can only imagine that some of these things sound cool, too, but the problem is that they're not Low, so odds are they are nowhere near as good as Low.

(burton also produced the upcoming kacey musgraves record)

!! Now that gets my attention.

oooh

I hope the closer on this one portends the sound of the next one the way "disarray" sort of ended up doing. I am ready for an all-doomy-bangers Low album with Burton on board.

(burton also produced the upcoming kacey musgraves record)

whoa

I'm having a hard time emotionally right now deliberating over whether to just listen to the leak already or not. Just tell me it's okay because I plan on buying the record when it's out, okay?

relistening to double negative to whet my appetite since i'm still undecided on the leak. "always up" might be one of the most beautiful songs of all time

any of y'all feeling guilty and weird about the leak spotify users by any chance? lmao

just listen to it and then buy it when it comes out!

i mean, i already bought the album. for me it's more about wanting to blast my ears out on the hifi with FLACs rather than the dodgy mp3 leak

I wouldn't worry about that, this album sometimes sounds like your stereo has been pre-busted.

paradoxically it's my experience that noize and productions that are made to 'sound like shit' are the ones to suffer most from mp3 encoding. out of curiosity, i took a look at the spectrograms from double negative to see what kind of imperceptible musical info it was throwing away. here's a comparison of flac vs 320 cbr mp3 for tempest.

i don't want to derail the thread into a lossless vs lossy argument, just an interesting observation i wanted to share.

OMFG at "Hey".

“Hey” >>> “Days Like These” 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Mind blown!!!

wow i had no idea burton was working on the kacey musgraves album, that's super exciting

i found an interview where burton said he did some stuff with dj quik in 2019, which he described as his dream collaboration, really hope that sees the light of day

i noticed something kinda weird. everytime i listen to the stuttering outro to white horses, it sounds like its at a different pitch..??? anyone else experiencing this? super fascinating illusion

The notes slowly increase in pitch if that's what you mean. But as a whole the outro sounds the same each time I listen

that outro sounds like a Lindstrom mix gearing up or something

i just felt like every time i've had the record on they've resolved differently, maybe something to do with the harmonic interval, or maybe just my busted old ears.

is that what variable bitrate means? :-D

SOMEWHERE OUT ON THE OCEAN...

20.07.21
7:00 PT | 9:00 CT | 15:00 BST pic.twitter.com/BAQSpG05oP

— Sub Pop Records (@subpop) July 19, 2021

ok ok - it's maybe not them but they retweeted it and they were going to release some more songs from the album during the Summer

so, the new bass player is Liz?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRZk5cqDxSF/

Right. Disappearing is coming out tomorrow and that tweet screenshot IS from the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9JyjipKBJk

amazing video

i'm so excited for this album

"Disappearing" was not a song that caught me much so far but it works great with those visuals