It seems suitable that the champions of the slowcore movement to be from a region where the winter months can be longer that the other three seasons combined and where its bitter cold and quiet isolation is simply part of life. Duluth Minnesota outfit Low has been crafting their unique brand of achingly mesmerizing music for almost 20 years. In the beginning, Low albums were an exercise in caustic and somber restraint. Each plaintive guitar strum or strike of the snare drum was like a knife to the heart as their verses were exhaled as withering final breaths. Around the turn of the millennium, the band began to peel away the sobering, furrowed nature of their music in remix EP's and exploring a more emphatic sound on their later albums. Their latest effort out on Sub Pop explores another new frontier as some of the ten songs on C'mon make a cautious move toward positivity.
The lullaby opening of "Try To Sleep" stands in contrast to their previous stark and deliberate expressions. Still delicate, Low chooses tenderness over melancholy here with lovely percussion and a resonating sweetness. This edict continues as the first half of C'mon adopts an elevated and uplifting musical dialogue. The instruments and words of drummer/vocalist Mimi Parker synchronize on "You See Everything" making a compelling and uplifting hymn. Her good work continues on "Especially Me" as her potent thumps and somnambulistic chant glow with hypnotic beauty. They even rock out on "Witches" as Alan Sparhawk works through track like a sermon, preaching his lyrics and sending a guitar laden message drenched in reverberation.
C'mon's latter half travels through the more familiar territory of Low's nineties output. "Majesty/Magic" is sparse and wounded, building into a tempest from a simple raincloud. The angry lyrics on "$20" are spit out as the subtle movements fill the empty space then end with abrupt chagrin. The epic "Nothing But Heart" finally rolls out vitriol, repeating the chorus as an affirmation that swells to assertion as the slide guitar hums out the clamoring feedback until the bitter end.
Until the four year wait for C'mon, Low was incredibly prolific, releasing LP's, EP's, singles and a 3 disc compilation of non-album tracks at the rate of once every nine months since 1994. It seems unusual that their longest hiatus brought such comparatively lively music to their repertoire. Perhaps it was actually difficult for them to find inspiration somewhere other than pain. It is a comfort that Low is never complacent, always challenging themselves to explore new boundaries for their unparalleled sound.
Bonus: Check out the new video for "Try To Sleep" below.
Purchase C'mon here. CD | Vinyl | mp3
Try To Sleep (Download)
You See Everything
Especially Me (Download)
No comments:
Post a Comment