Too LOW: ILM Artist Poll #111 - Low - RESULTS

it had not occurred to me to ever distinguish between songs sung by Alan, sung songs by Mimi and songs sung by both.

Yeah I don't think it's a thing that makes sense to do with this band. It's not that you can't (wikipedia does) but sometimes the harmonies or counter lines by the other person are stronger than the "lead", it blurs the line of what an Alan-led or Mimi-led song is. The variation in that space is the band's strongest asset imo

xp--has your BF heard 'Double Negative,' 'Drums & Guns,' 'Bombscare,' 'Trust'? Mamas and the Papas wow (though I could see Low doing a great 'California Dreaming" cover)

xp - Agreed - a big part of their longevity for me is tied up in the way they find new ways to complicate that dynamic.

xp--has your BF heard 'Double Negative,' 'Drums & Guns,' 'Bombscare,' 'Trust'? Mamas and the Papas wow (though I could see Low doing a great 'California Dreaming" cover)

― Soundslike, Tuesday, 23 November 2021 00:05 (twenty-five seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

In fairness I don't tend to play Double Negative or Drums & Guns or Hey What in front of him - it seems like asking for trouble.

https://i.imgur.com/9rMhKsz.png
3. Trust
Released in 2002
386 points, 27 voters, 4 #1 votes

i know there's quite a few huge trust fans here but it was still a little surprising to see it this high. it was the biggest beneficiary of the last two days of ballots though, it really shot up.

for most of the voting period the order of #3 - #7 was somewhere around the following:
I Could Live In Hope
The Curtain Hits the Cast
Secret Name
Trust
HEY WHAT

which felt more expected?

to me Trust at #3 seems about right! (was #4 for me, and it was hard to decide)

it's good but not quite up with their best. the bookends are great but i think "the great destroyer" generally did the lighter parts of the album better & i don't find the darkest parts ("the lamb", "john prine" etc.) super compelling. but i can understand how that is exactly what some want out of low

what do you think about amazing grace?

i don't want that out of low every time - to me, 'the lamb' and 'amazing grace' in particular - but i they can do that kind of thing like no one else

"the bookends are great"

comeon c'mon!

drums & guns was my #2-- it was my LOW gateway drug so it really holds a special place in my heart. TOO LOW

in silence > murderer > violent past is probably the best run on an album they've done

https://i.imgur.com/PQOHE4D.png
2. Things We Lost in the Fire
Released in 2001
390 points, 29 voters, 10 #1 votes

https://i.imgur.com/R6Zs01h.png
1. Double Negative
Released in 2018
402 points, 28 voters, 7 #1 votes

appropriate #1. what a fucking album

wow! had DN as 2 and curtain as 1 but what a result

I'm just going to say that I'm a little surprised and disappointed tbh.

Who else is correct and voted "Curtain" at #1?

these were always the top 2 (though trust got very close in the end) & i was surprised that they were such clear favourites - over half of all ballots voted for one of them as #1

A bit surprised Double Negative is #1 but it was my #1. It's probably in my top 25 albums of all time by this point. Truly remarkable album

Things We Lost in the Fire though... the album leaves me pretty cold and I don't get why it has such a strong rep. I'm happy to take "Laser Beam" and leave the rest

things we lost in the fire feels like the culmination of latter day LOW while double negative feels like a culmination of mid-period LOW. both are incredible albums and i would've been fine with either one taking #1

A little surprised that Long Division didn't make it at all.

Has one of my favorite "creepy" Low songs on it— "Turn." Also "Throw Out the Line" and "Stay".

full results:

1. Double Negative - 402 points, 28 voters, 7 #1 votes
2. Things We Lost in the Fire - 390 points, 29 voters, 10 #1 votes
3. Trust - 386 points, 27 voters, 4 #1 votes
4. The Curtain Hits the Cast - 348 points, 29 voters, 4 #1 votes
5. I Could Live In Hope - 300 points, 25 voters, 2 #1 votes
6. HEY WHAT - 298 points, 27 voters
7. Secret Name - 278 points, 25 voters, 1 #1 vote
8. Drums and Guns - 196 points, 20 voters, 2 #1 votes
9. The Great Destroyer - 178 points, 19 voters
10. Ones and Sixes - 176 points, 18 voters, 2 #1 votes
11. Long Division - 128 points, 17 voters
12. C'mon - 124 points, 15 voters
13. Christmas - 62 points, 8 voters
14. Bombscare - 54 points, 6 voters
15. Songs for a Dead Pilot - 46 points, 5 voters
16. The Invisible Way - 26 points, 4 voters
17. Murderer - 22 points, 2 voters
18. A Lifetime of Temporary Relief - 20 points, 2 voters
19. The Exit Papers - 14 points, 2 voters
19. One More Reason To Forget - 14 points, 1 voters
21. In the Fishtank 7 - 10 points, 2 voters
21. owL Remix - 10 points, 1 voters
23. Live at Eindhoven - 2 points, 1 voters

Oh no

I'm going to be controversial and say that I like them, but I actually am genuinely befuddled by the extreme love for Double Negative...and tbh, the new one.

The general line on Trust is that it is inconsistent but I find it very consistent throughout, and it's Things We Lost... that feels patchy but with very high highs for me.

going to go through covers fairly quickly

10. Lord, Can You Hear Me?
Originally performed by Spacemen 3, written by Pierce
Released on the A Tribute To Spacemen 3 compilation & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
90 points, 9 voters
Studio version

I'm going to be controversial and say that I like them, but I actually am genuinely befuddled by the extreme love for Double Negative...and tbh, the new one.

― I'm a sovereign jizz citizen (the table is the table), Tuesday, 23 November 2021 00:48 (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I'm curious to hear you unpack this a bit - you talked in the other thread about C'Mon and The Invisible Way but not these ones.

re: Double Negative, I can't think of another band that has made that kind of leap 25 years into their career

Things We Lost in the Fire though... the album leaves me pretty cold and I don't get why it has such a strong rep...

― Vinnie, Monday, November 22, 2021

I listened a few times through while voting, and in retrospect it seems a little distant and manicured to me. I don't remember thinking that at the time. I know that could be a criticism of Secret Name, too

i can understand longtime fans being somewhat alienated by double negative but at this point it's genuinely up there with like kid a, loveless etc. as far as pop-experimental rock albums go & it has some of their very best tunes even ignoring the production.

Yeah I said this previously but Double Negative has surprisingly indelible melodies.

Very few points separating Trust, Things We Lost, and DN. I had Things We Lost as #1. It was my gateway disc.

voted for more tracks from Trust and The Great Destroyer than from any of their other albums. they were my #2 and #3

8. Stay
Originally performed by Rihanna, written by Ekko/Parker/Loelv
Released as a single in 2013
92 points, 8 voters
Studio version

8. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Originally performed by The Smiths, written by Marr/Morrissey
Released as as single in 2001 & on A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
92 points, 7 voters, 1 #1 vote
Studio version

Ended up being easier to rank than I thought - for me Fire, Trust, Double Negative, HW just absolutely nail an aesthetic start-to-finish with no dead weight, feel exceptionally replayable. Drums and Guns material is incredibly strong, but with the obvious production issue. Destroyer, Cast, Hope, Secret Name have really high highs but aren't quite top-to-bottom packed with favourites. The 2010 records are still strong but combined with songs that I really struggle to get on with - as much as I wish that weren't the case.

I think the comparison to Kid A or Loveless is apt! The production is striking but underneath that are some very strong songs

xp to Dan: Secret Name is a bit stronger for me than Things We Lost so I kinda get why people like that one, but nothing from either album made my ballot. I guess the connection there is Albini but I've liked other albums he's produced

yeah, that Albini produced those surprised me. I really liked Secret Name though, it was maybe too twee but it felt very intimate to me

7. Long Long Long
Originally performed by The Beatles, written by Harrison
Released on the "Joan of Arc" single & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
96 points, 8 voters
Studio version

Always thought this live version with strings https://v3.fastupload.co/file/9766 of the Last Night cover beat out the box set recording which bumped it up a few places.

6. Blue-Eyed Devil
Originally performed & written by Soul Coughing
Released on the Teleconned Volume 1: We Want The Airwaves v/a compilation & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
108 points, 8 voters, 2 #1 votes
Studio version

ooh what's the context of that live version, are there other tracks from the same performance with strings out there

HEY WHAT too Low! Long Division way too low. Oof.

5. Little Drummer Boy
As made famous by Harry Simeone Chorale, written by Simeone/Davis/Onorati
Released on Christmas
112 points, 8 voters, 1 #1 vote
Studio version

Glad to see other voters put Little Drummer Boy on their list of covers. Christmas drone

that was my favorite Christmas song as a little kid. I've heard it to death, but their version is very nice

4. I Started a Joke
Originally performed by The Bee Gees, written by Gibb/Gibb/Gibb
Released on the Jabberjaw...Pure Sweet Hell v/a compilation & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
140 points, 9 voters, 2 #1 votes
Studio version

There's a few i haven't heard but no way do Low have 10(!!) albums that are even better than Long Division.

i might be biased cause it was the first one i picked up, but i was under the impression it was their highest regarded release for a time pre-TWLITF? Secret Name or maybe Christmas was their current release then.

I *love* Long Division AND, according to my ballot, therr e are a solid six Low albums that are better.