Low -- Double Negative

[mediocreplayer]

The best band on the planet released a new album, and it is fucking incredible. I am not sure what someone who is unfamiliar with Low's previous work would think of this new record, but If you are a fan, you would no doubt appreciate how the band completely tore down their usually sparse and beautiful songs and reconstructed them in a way that is noisy/glitchy/ugly, but with the characteristic low aesthetic still intact.

Singles

[oid]

Did not hear about this, which is odd since Low is a local band, wonder if I missed the album release show. Their website seems to not be working or the browsers I have dislike it, wonder if they are doing a show for it, generally do one.

It is weird how big they have gotten, they have just been such a regular part of most of my music life, Al used to come in the copy shop I worked at to do flyers for shows, now a label does it for him. I am hoping he returns to the local music scene as he once was, pulled back a fair amount when he had kids, but they are getting old enough to not want to hang out with Dad all the time anymore. He used to be very very active here, had 3 or 4 regularly playing projects, plus Low and the occasional solo show, sitting in with random bands, and did some odds and ends like host a weekly experimental open mic and just was out at shows all the time.

EDIT: The website just kicked, just 3 shows in NY coming up, no mention of an album release show for the locals, hopefully they do one, tends to be a great time, do the show in an old church turned music venue/studio. They recently did a show there with the pipe organ, was not able to go to that one unfortunately.

[zhivago]

I've seen Low quite a few times...great band...I also saw Gospel Retribution Choir once in a tiny club.

I'll check out the new album

[dinosaurkale->]

been awaiting this..need to get a copy

great Low article in a recent issue of WIRE

[parry]

the band completely tore down their usually sparse and beautiful songs and reconstructed them in a way that is noisy/glitchy/ugly, but with the characteristic low aesthetic still intact.

They sure did, and the result is pretty f'n stellar!
Wow.

It "feels" like driving at night...



Thanks, for the reminder!

[shadowplay]

I like Low and always buy their records, even if I've not played a few of them much but I've always preferred them glacial as I first heard them or more introspective than the more rocking releases or the more jaunty stuff (Christmas aside), so I was looking forward to the new one coming in and I'm not dissapointed.

I really like the glitchy, crushed and isolating sound of it, it's closer to Andy Stott or Oval or even Ian William Craig than it is to something like The Great Destroyer. Guitar bands often utterly fail when they try to sail into these waters, perishing limply on rocks of their own creation, barely interesting the Sirens* but Low have really pulled it off and I really hope people give it a chance because I'm already looking forward to seeing where they take this sound.

I've got the album on the turntable right now, Always Up just came on and it's sweeping me away in a tremulous cloud of surrendered devotion.

D

* like that bloke from the dreaded RHCP shitting the bed trying to do acid house and ending up roughly as psychedelic as Ed Sheeran

EDIT; at first I was worried folk that like Low as a 'guitar band' won't like this but now I'm more worried that beautiful slow glowing refracted pop gems like Fly won't get heard by folk that naturally flow in that direction. Fingers crossed.

[DesmondWafers]

Usually older bands that attempt something like this end up with a clumsy and embarrassing product, but they actually managed to pull it off really well.

Ian William Craig

Always happy to see this name on OSG. His new LP drops soon, but I fear an OSG thread wouldn't generate much interest.

[oid]

I am getting curious about this since Oval got brought up, Oval and Microstoria are pretty big for me and the idea of Low with some of that is quite exciting. Still need to hold off on getting the album in case I can hear them perform it live for an album release show.

[my bloody television]

Thank you for the heads up on this. Just snagged tickets to their friday show in Brooklyn. Looking forward to hearing how this new album translates live.

[shadowplay]

Usually older bands that attempt something like this end up with a clumsy and embarrassing product, but they actually managed to pull it off really well.

Ian William Craig

Always happy to see this name on OSG. His new LP drops soon, but I fear an OSG thread wouldn't generate much interest.

I'd be interested and have posted about him a wee bit but sad to say it's increasingly only hate, nostalgia (90's nostalgia is a winner), Grunge and Broses and Dave Grohl threads that get any replies down in music.

I've pretty much given up, in Eurovision terms it's always 'nul points' and anyway some of the members who'd have participated in the past like slowpop have wisely found better things to do.

D

[Sauerkraut]

Big fan here. I love the new record from start to finish and I can't wait to see them play live in Berlin. Last time they played here was a really great show, but this time around I think it might just be the show of the year for me (and weeks in which I don't see at least one show are rare)

[burpgun]

I just saw Low last night at about the smallest venue I could imagine, Williamburg, Brooklyn's National Sawdust. Bloody great show. I've had the strange arc of being a fan for a long time. But I only first saw them Radio City opening for Explosions in the Sky, which wasn't ideal. Next was Williamburg Music Hall, and then last night's super intimate gig.

I went in wondering how Double Negative would translate. Mimi had head phones on, there were some loops and maybe some drones were sequenced. Allan was definitely doing some stuff with loop pedals. He's got some great weirdo pedals and can really get roaring when he wants. None of the new stuff sounded exactly like the record, but it didn't matter, it was a unique interpretation. The songs are great, and they found a good balance. Second half of the set was older material and it really drives home how much great songwriting they've done. Pretty remarkable a band that's been around this long, with such a clear identity, still makes good songs and finds a way forward.

And here's the real treat of last night's show. I think I heard Low exactly as they meant to be heard. National Sawdust is a small venue and it's oriented towards experimental and classical type stuff, not bands. I don't know if you could put a band like, say Deafheaven, in there and not slaughter everyone. But Low fit perfectly. Voices clear, everything was audible. I'm more a bass player than anything and you could catch every nuance of Low's low end guy. I've gotten kind down on live sound because often it's too loud and muddy. I walked out of a Russian Circles show once because the PA sub was causing the kick drum to smash everything. About the only band I can think of that I've heard sound like they truly wanted is Sleep, and that's because of their insane back line. Low's sound last night was accurate, and that made an awesome show just that much better.

[oid]

Low are master's of getting good sound, especially Al. Last time I saw Al play solo it was in a restaurant with the worst acoustics ever, all hard reflective surfaces, I have never seen a show there which was not painful. Al shows up 10 minutes before start time sets up and just start a playing, strummed a chord or two while saying hello to set basic levels than off he went. During the first song he was tweaking his amp and guitar volume and tone on the fly along with his vocals on the PA, by the end of the song he had it tweaked to perfection and sounded great. The most insane thing, if i was not watching him make those tweaks I would not have been able to tell he was doing it, never even a pause in the song, he would loop one chord and let it repeat once and tweak a little then stop that loop right on the beat and resume playing, it is something to see.

[antisymmetric]

Low is a band I need to spend more time with. Coincidentally, I just read Joey Burns' (of Calexico) comments on this album before finding this thread.

[wingnutkj]

Looking forward to hearing this album. Low are a band that I've been into for many years, but it took me a while to notice just how much I absolutely LOVE them. For a band to keep pushing, keep being innovative, keep changing, and yet somehow remain that core essence for so long is pretty amazing. I've got tickets for their Glasgow show next year - when they first announced UK shows, Glasgow wasn't mentioned, so I'm glad they added extra dates.