I guess I need to revisit. With Low I've tended to listen once instead of twice. Trust was my first album of theirs and I loved it. ...Live In Hope was the second and it lacked the hymnal qualities of their latter-day stuff and so I prob didn't give it a fair shake. I found the Albini albums too theatrical with my cursory listen, I do not enjoy the song "Dinosaur Act". I purchased Destroyer and Drums on vinyl when I found them used and disliked them and sold them again-- not a Fridmann fan. Can't figure out why I adore Division and Double Negative unreservedly and have mixed feelings about the rest of it. I usually think of Mimi when I think about how I always want drums to sound
― what's fgti up to these days? nothing. she's fake (flamboyant goon tie included), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 18:13 (two years ago) link
I always say this but Drums & Guns is the pinnacle for me, desert island record.
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 18:49 (two years ago) link
my first low album was the curtain hits the cast, i just really liked the title so i asked my parents to get it for me for christmas, not knowing exactly what low sounded like but having an idea? anyway the reality was far grander and deeper than whatever impression it was i had at the time. i still love that album to death
my favorites have ranged all over the catalog, loved drums & guns the most for a few years, but these days i find myself returning to trust and ones and sixes the most
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 19:08 (two years ago) link
secret name/things we lost in the fire for me
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 19:27 (two years ago) link
"sunflower" is my favorite low song
I listened to "Murderer" at ufo's suggestion earlier and it rules
I think I gotta do a proper survey now that streaming has made it possible
― what's fgti up to these days? nothing. she's fake (flamboyant goon tie included), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 19:50 (two years ago) link
'Breaker' introduced me to sus chords
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 20:01 (two years ago) link
Also love that lo-fi, low-passed drum machine with the gorgeous roomy handclaps, that left a deep impression.
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 20:02 (two years ago) link
I always liked Glenn McDonald’s take (in a review of Secret Name or Things We Lost) where he focuses on the sense of gradual narrative created by following the albums in chronological order and hearing their sound slowly open up like a flower turning to the sun.
Obviously they have covered a lot more ground over the subsequent two decades, and it doesn’t really make sense to talk about say Ones and Sixes as more open than The Great Destroyer, but I still get a very strong sense of searching and striving that comes through most strongly by following the arc of their career chronologically.
― Tim F, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 20:04 (two years ago) link
That said, like Brad, Trust and Ones and Sixes are probably the two I play the most now. Maybe because they both strike really nice balances between a purposeful approach and really lovely songs? IDK.
― Tim F, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 20:05 (two years ago) link
Murderer EP is your goal as imo the versions of Murderer and especially Silver Rider are superior on it to lp versions
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 20:53 (two years ago) link
both versions of "murderer" are perfect and i don't think i could choose between them
― ufo, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:01 (two years ago) link
except that panning though lol
― ufo, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:04 (two years ago) link
these days i just listen to drums & guns in mono when i'm listening with headphones (99% of the time)
― ufo, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:08 (two years ago) link
oh man i always thought i was the only one who liked Trust the most but ofc Brad and Tim also like that one the most
MY PEOPLE!!!
― self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:16 (two years ago) link
love to see that some people rate Trust as high as I do. it always seemed under appreciated among the fan base.
― This Is Not An ILX Username (LaMonte), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:21 (two years ago) link
Trust is also my favorite.
― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:31 (two years ago) link
I think it has a lot to do with when it came out / where I was in my Low fandom, definitely egged on by the kinda meh/indifferent reception it got at the time
― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:32 (two years ago) link
fine, you two are also my people
Trust is the first Low LP i bought so yeah, sentimental fave
― self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:38 (two years ago) link
The sequence from In The Drugs to La La Song is one of the strongest 5 song runs in pretty much any band's career.
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:44 (two years ago) link
^ the next one after La La Song is Point of Disgust - so I'd bump that run up to 6 songs.
― that's not my post, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:57 (two years ago) link
Anyway, Christmas.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 22:00 (two years ago) link
all of my people get paid up to $0.50 per post. i'm just throwing that out there
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 22:00 (two years ago) link
and i'll create the union for me so you can fire me and give a generous severance package
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 22:01 (two years ago) link
we are called the Secret Namers
the pitchfork sunday Flash from the Past review often trails sustained ilm thread revivals by a few weeks, so i'll just say this: Secret Namers can earn up to $0.50 per post
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 22:07 (two years ago) link
I spent the early part of the pandemic filling in some gaps in my Low collection, still need to get the debut, Christmas and A Lifetime of Temporary Relief as the main ones I'm missing.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 22:22 (two years ago) link
revisited their first three records this morning
i could live in hope is really such a wonderful fully-formed debut, everything's there already. i love sparhawk's guitar, obviously very influenced by the cure at their best, but stripped down.long division has a very similar sound to the debut of course, but it's even quieter and slower, and doesn't have the same atmosphere to it, solid but not quite as compelling overall.the curtain hits the cast feels a little warmer than their first two? i've seen people say it's their darkest but it doesn't quite feel it to me. really good record, continues on from long division with its sparseness but successfully brings back the atmosphere & expansive track lengths of i could live in hope & adds a little more intensity? "do you know how to waltz" is so immense!
― ufo, Thursday, 24 June 2021 01:35 (two years ago) link
got into Low because Things We Lost in the Fire and Trust showed up on an ILM poll years and years ago. they are still my two favorites. I love mostly all of em though
― gman59, Thursday, 24 June 2021 01:39 (two years ago) link
Again it seems it's time to do a full Low albums/tracks poll... Again I'd love to run it but don't realistically have time : (
― Soundslike, Thursday, 24 June 2021 12:15 (two years ago) link
I could probably do tabulation if others could help with images and rollout. About time I pulled my weight on here
BUT
at this point, I think the poll should wait a few months after the new album
― Vinnie, Thursday, 24 June 2021 12:28 (two years ago) link
I'd feel weird about doing a Low poll before they actually pack it in
― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Thursday, 24 June 2021 12:40 (two years ago) link
Is there any consensus about top 5 tracks so far? Feels like there might be as many #1 selections as there are poll voters.
― that's not my post, Thursday, 24 June 2021 14:40 (two years ago) link
there could be a series of low polls by decades, followed by low-showdowns, followed by sweet merciful death
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 June 2021 15:53 (two years ago) link
xp and yeah that's not my post, i agree! on the non-consensus, i mean. :) i think a couple of them would probably be consensus faves (particularly Things We Lost in the Fire songs...I might be wrong and jinxing it now), but in general, it would be pretty unpredictable
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 24 June 2021 15:54 (two years ago) link
Wow, I felt it would be hard to follow up Double Negative. This single hints that they are going to do so with gusto.
― octobeard, Thursday, 24 June 2021 19:22 (two years ago) link
yeah wait for a few months after the new album before doing a poll but i'd love to see it & there's clearly plenty of interest. aldo is still listed as having dibs on running it iirc
― ufo, Thursday, 24 June 2021 20:46 (two years ago) link
As I've said various times ^^^ I don't have the time these days so happy for anyone that wants to do it to do it.
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Thursday, 24 June 2021 21:04 (two years ago) link
ah i didn't realise
i guess november would be the earliest time it'd make sense to run one after the new album, or first thing next year after EOY stuff is done?
― ufo, Thursday, 24 June 2021 21:25 (two years ago) link
Don't know if this will work formatting-wise, but nice use of the meme
When @lowtheband heads into the studio during a pandemic. pic.twitter.com/HjV48e7zKJ— Tim Unsell (@devotiondoubt) June 24, 2021
― that's not my post, Friday, 25 June 2021 00:22 (two years ago) link
after listening to their whole discography a lot this week i have a vague ranking of their major releases. would say those top 6 are all pretty essential & the rest are solid at the very least
Double NegativeThe Curtain Hits the CastI Could Live In HopeC'monThings We Lost in the FireOnes and SixesDrums and GunsThe Great DestroyerTrustLong DivisionSecret NameSongs for a Dead PilotThe Invisible Way
― ufo, Sunday, 27 June 2021 04:23 (two years ago) link
Which direction do those go--lowest to highest? Highest to lowest?
― Soundslike, Sunday, 27 June 2021 13:14 (two years ago) link
highest to lowest
but it's not like any of them are bad & the only one i'd be surprised to see as someone's favourite is probably the invisible way
― ufo, Sunday, 27 June 2021 13:21 (two years ago) link
Top of my head (lowest to highest):
17. The Invisible Way16. C'mon15. Ones and Sixes14. Transmission EP13. The Great Destroyer12. Long Division11. Songs For A Dead Pilot10. Christmas EP09. In The Fishtank EP08. Things We Lost In the Fire07. Curtain Hits the Cast06. I Could Live In Hope05. Trust04. Bombscare EP03. Secret Name02. Drums & Guns01. Double Negative
Been a fan since 1996, and love everything except for what feels like a little fallow period right before they burned the fields for 'Double Negative'. I first loved them for their purity--but I loved their thawing and expanding (and in some ways, darkening) that they underwent, first culminating in 'Drums & Guns'.
I love that they easily could've semi-retired into safely profitable middle-aged folksy sweetness, putting out pretty, pleasant records and aging up their audience--but instead (while being clearly deeply kind and giving people) they've pushed into the chaos of the world and made work that is risky, starkly honest, beautiful but not "pretty".
― Soundslike, Sunday, 27 June 2021 14:22 (two years ago) link
1 things we lost in the fire2 curtain hits the cast3 i could live in hope 4 secret name5 double negative6 long division7 trust8 c'mon9 christmas10 ones and sixes
not fussed about the others...
― maelin, Sunday, 27 June 2021 14:40 (two years ago) link
c'mon is great, a return to the rich arrangements of things we lost in the fire except bigger & more expansive, with the second half shifting towards their slower side
and ones and sixes isn't quite as consistent as their very best work but i really love the sound design on it, playing around with distorted synths & drum machines, it vaguely bridges drums and guns and double negative
― ufo, Sunday, 27 June 2021 14:53 (two years ago) link
I'll have to give that period another shot. After the thrill of 'Drums & Guns' they just felt like a regression to me, didn't make an impact at the time...
― Soundslike, Sunday, 27 June 2021 15:02 (two years ago) link
I think I’ve said this before but if you do this in order—listen to Drums & Guns, then watch the documentary, then listen to C’mon—I think that’s where the beauty of C’mon comes through. It’s Alan trying to come back, and Mimi not letting go. I think it’s an absolute stunner of a record if you think of it in context of the truly low point they were coming from (no pun intended).
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Sunday, 27 June 2021 15:23 (two years ago) link
I hated that their greatest work seemed to come from their time of most personal struggle... Makes me hapoy that Alan instrad seemed invigorated and happy and talkative, when touring 'Double Negative'...
Might as well share this here, in case anyone is interested:
https://www.twitter.com/musicophiliamix/status/1409177021876408320
― Soundslike, Sunday, 27 June 2021 15:54 (two years ago) link
CurtainTrustLost in the FireLive in HopeSecret NameDouble NegativeLong DivisionOnes and Sixes
The only record rated highly by some fans that I just can't get into is 'Cmon,' which will always be second to last (before Invisible Way) for me.
― heyy nineteen, that's john belushi (the table is the table), Monday, 28 June 2021 11:12 (two years ago) link