I'd seen Low mentioned several times on the forums, but had never heard any of their work until a couple of weeks ago on the Bob Harris show.

Bob played a track that I really liked, which turned out to be Low's new single "california". I've been listening to the album for over a week now, and find it utterly captivating. It's bloody hard to describe, generally slow, sparse arrangements with a dark, soul-searching feel. If you like Lambchop, you might like this.

I searched the archives for more info (not easy to search a hifi forum for "Low") and this appears to be a very highly regarded band, but there was also a suggestion that The Great Destroyer is less representative of their earlier work, being more upbeat,rockier.

What are your thoughts on Low ?

sound samples at amazon

BOR

Hi Brian you are right - TGD is indeed more upbeat than previous releases . Most people's fave , including mine ,is Things We Lost in The Fire . I have recently bought their 3 cd / 1 dvd of b sides and odds called A Lifetime of Temporary Relief which is very good as well in patches . If you possibly can , check out their version of Blowing in the Wind - absolutely fantastic!
Good luck in the search.

I think The Great Destroyer is by some distance the least interesting thing they've done, so you'll either like the earlier stuff or you won't.

FWIW I think far and away their best record is Secret Name. Beautiful from start to finish, but with some grit in there too. After Secret Name they seemed to tread water a bit, IMO, revisiting the same basic ideas too often. The new album seems to be an attempt to do something different, but in the process they appear to have junked a large part of what made them distinctive and interesting in the first place.

-- Ian

Brian,

I have 'Trust' on vinyl and think it's a great album. I think it's recorded in a church and has a great atmospheric feel to it. I suppose I need to add 'Things...' to my next Insound order.

cheers,

Dan

Thanx glenda/sideshow/dan,

I'll get those three recomendations (mostly because I like the titles).

Regards,

Senior Member

Top 3 Low Albums:

1. Things We Lost in the Fire
2. Secret Name
3. Trust

Matthew

Matthew

Please stop spending my money. Note to self:
Buy 'Things we lost in the fire' and 'Secret name'.

Dan

The big problem with The Great Destroyer is Mimi has no songs where she's on lead vocals. Run, don't walk, and buy this album...



They do an absolutely stunning version of Neil Young's, Down By The River!