It sounds as if they're using really heavy compression. "Always Trying to Work it Out" is fascinating - it has the same kind of aggressive compression as a lot of dance music. Whenever the kick drum comes in the entire rest of the mix gets out of the way, but they've made the kick drum quiet so that it sounds as if distant artillery is going off. Or some infernal factory. The album sounds like a more experimental, gloomier Slowdive.
I've generally been sceptical of Low - no-one can be that anguished for that long, they came across as fakers - but Double Negative is subtler. The sound is much more in-your-face but the lyrics and general atmosphere are subtler.
― Ashley Pomeroy, Friday, 7 December 2018 23:12 (five years ago) link
no-one can be that anguished for that long
actually,
― lowercase (eric), Friday, 7 December 2018 23:19 (five years ago) link
I've generally been sceptical of Low - no-one can be that anguished for that long, they came across as fakers
This is a really weird opinion
― The Poppy Bush AutoZone (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 8 December 2018 03:30 (five years ago) link
Always Trying To Work It Out is my favorite track on here, and that sidechain kick is definitely a big part of that. Don't know that I've really heard that before on a nominally non-electronic recording.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 8 December 2018 03:59 (five years ago) link
They used that effect on the last LP as well, notably on the opener "Gentle"
― resident hack (Simon H.), Saturday, 8 December 2018 05:53 (five years ago) link
I've generally been sceptical of Low - no-one can be that anguished for that long, they came across as fakersThis is a really weird opinion
― gbx, Thursday, 13 December 2018 02:14 (five years ago) link
re the sidechain kicks:
I wouldn't deny that the sound is quite different here (though again it was suggested by some of the tracks on Ones and Sixes), but I feel that the way the band use keyboards and static and processed sounds here (a lot of the arrangements seem to be built on distorted samples of their own vocals) is strongly consistent with their prior general songwriting/arranging approach: especially the way that some of the tracks seem to be almost a grim caricature of sidechain compression with the melodies being obliterated by a regular but slow overwhelming kick like they're constantly disappearing into and re-emerging from a black hole. It's very much a digital counterpart to their original trick of focusing the listener's attention on stark, very slow, endlessly repeated guitar chords.
― Tim F, Tuesday, 11 September 2018 22:49 (three months ago) Permalink
Perhaps worth emphasising that the kick itself does not sound "loud" - almost like they wanted to concoct a heavily sidechained arrangement but then remove the most of the sound that the sidechaining is designed to emphasise, so it's as if the arrangements are being overwhelemed by silence or numbness, like you're going straight from sensation to a kind of post-explosion deafness, but skipping the sound of the explosion that put you there.
I can't think of a more allusive sonic trick in music this year.
― Tim F, Thursday, 13 December 2018 03:22 (five years ago) link
Purity Ring did that a lot on Shrines, having extreme sidechain effects, but muting out the kick half the time so it sounds like everything is fading in and out.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 13 December 2018 03:46 (five years ago) link
I'd characterize the music of Low as downtempo, reflective, somber at times, but not "anguished"
― rip van wanko, Thursday, 13 December 2018 04:34 (five years ago) link
Yeah, they exert a level of control I tend not to associate with anguish. Angst, sure.
― resident hack (Simon H.), Thursday, 13 December 2018 04:39 (five years ago) link
The missing link here is the weird kick Sparhawk used on the first Retribution Gospel Choir album, not the same but it was definitely some weird compression (I've heard of side chain but I don't know enough to say if it's the same thing)
― No Smockin' (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 13 December 2018 13:09 (five years ago) link
Are the drums on "No Comprende" from the last albums programmed or massively compressed or both?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 13 December 2018 13:26 (five years ago) link
I used to use that trick a lot, you sidechain the kick to the other track and send it 'pre-fader'.
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 13 December 2018 16:29 (five years ago) link
V good piece
https://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/12/19/artist-reflections-alan-sparhawk-of-low-on-taking-chances-in-2018/
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 19 December 2018 19:16 (five years ago) link
all the bandcamp daily pieces ive read have been neat - theyre more in touch than a lot of music mags
― meaulnes, Wednesday, 19 December 2018 20:19 (five years ago) link
X-postReally? I find that quite vague and quite blah. He doesn't really say anything specific about any song. And even when he tells the story about his skiing accident the influence on the album does not become clear. I was waiting that he'd write that Fly was inspired by the accident and the long period of immobility. Maybe the reader is supposed to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Luckily his profession is to make music and not to write.
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Wednesday, 19 December 2018 21:06 (five years ago) link
Thank you, anonymous US Post Office employee: Reflections on the debut by the band and Kramer
― willem, Wednesday, 13 February 2019 15:11 (five years ago) link
are the "Lullaby" and "Cut" demos from the boxset taken from that demo tape?
― bhad bundy (Simon H.), Wednesday, 13 February 2019 15:25 (five years ago) link
Box set liner notes confirm that, yes.
― willem, Wednesday, 13 February 2019 15:52 (five years ago) link
From the liner notes:
-lullaby (demo) – Mimi’s first song-cut (demo) – This song was possibly the first song we wrote. These first 2 demos were recorded in our apartment by a friend with a 4-track cassette machine after our first show in Duluth. We sent out a half dozen copies to some indie labels, got a nice note from Dischord, and an invitation to record with Kramer…
― willem, Wednesday, 13 February 2019 15:56 (five years ago) link
thanks! I can definitely imagine just being floored by these recordings.
― bhad bundy (Simon H.), Wednesday, 13 February 2019 15:57 (five years ago) link
For some reason, the album version of "Lullaby" is really popular in Turkey. Like, 15 million (yes, million) views on YouTube popular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaSVkb_XLt4Read the comments...half of them are in Turkish.
― ernestp, Sunday, 17 February 2019 01:48 (five years ago) link
its their biggest song on spotify too
always been in my top 3 Low songs
― Friedrich B. Neechy (Oor Neechy), Sunday, 17 February 2019 14:24 (five years ago) link
I figured it must be a soundtrack appearance? but I don't see any placements for "Lullaby" on Tunefind or anything more recent than an obscure 1998 movie on IMDb. They have had more TV appearances than I'd expected, though.
https://www.tunefind.com/artist/low
― bhad bundy (Simon H.), Sunday, 17 February 2019 15:42 (five years ago) link
i had assumed it mustve been on a soundtrack too. Its as big a mystery as that Dinosaur Jr track that exploded
― Friedrich B. Neechy (Oor Neechy), Sunday, 17 February 2019 20:49 (five years ago) link
Maybe it's some fluke of the Youtube algorithm? I don't know if it gives different recommendations by country.
― jmm, Sunday, 17 February 2019 20:53 (five years ago) link
Also people (parents?) probably just search “lullaby” and streaming / video services count plays even if you don’t listen to the whole song.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Sunday, 17 February 2019 20:55 (five years ago) link
but.....why Turkey?!
― bhad bundy (Simon H.), Monday, 18 February 2019 05:12 (five years ago) link
Simon you should ask them.
― macropuente (map), Monday, 18 February 2019 06:27 (five years ago) link
tried to put some of those Turkish comments through google translate and it's like this track has become some sort of anthem for the depressed/suicidal somehow (with a bit of 4llah sprinkled in amongst them as well)
― StanM, Monday, 18 February 2019 08:30 (five years ago) link
found no clues as to how/why Turkey though
probably similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luM6oeCM7Yw
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Monday, 18 February 2019 09:32 (five years ago) link
view count: 77 million
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Monday, 18 February 2019 09:33 (five years ago) link
damn there's like a whole suicidal ideation support group formed in the comments on that one
― bhad bundy (Simon H.), Monday, 18 February 2019 17:46 (five years ago) link
Very excited to see the show in SF tomorrow
― that's not my post, Saturday, 16 March 2019 05:06 (five years ago) link
well that was something else
― akm, Sunday, 17 March 2019 15:07 (five years ago) link
xpost, yeah, it was something else. awesome ambient noise & light show. crystalline vocals from mimi and beautiful harmonies as usual. and yet, i didn't love it as much as some of their other shows. it was a difficult list which may have been the point.
― that's not my post, Monday, 18 March 2019 02:45 (five years ago) link
yeah almost everything from the last two albums and the state set up definitely put them at a remove from the audience where previously I've found Low shows to feel quite intimate. It got really late and we had to jet before the encore, to my dismay I'm guessing they did Over the Ocean and Sunflowers? No Murderer which is my favorite Low song of all time. But it was still pretty great. If you'd told me 20 years ago that Low would have a midset freakout that rivaled You Made Me Realize I'd have looked at you askance.
― akm, Monday, 18 March 2019 03:07 (five years ago) link
OTM. The show here back-when was more ... theatrical than I'd come to expect from them. OK, maybe not theatrical, maybe more transcendent? Something more ineffable, but that may just be projection on my part. I always liked that they were the sort of band to just casually walk on stage, set up their own stuff, plug in and start playing, like a punk band. Not that this was that different, and in fact Alan's banter (as such) was as chill and funny and approachable as ever. But watching them fill a packed gorgeous cathedral with perfect oppressively gorgeous and at times ugly sound was something else.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 18 March 2019 12:07 (five years ago) link
relistening to Double Negative today and I just need to say: ILM otm
― Simon H., Sunday, 7 April 2019 16:53 (five years ago) link
ILM not wrong
― StanM, Sunday, 7 April 2019 18:14 (five years ago) link
afaik I've never listened to a Low song in my life before today but decided to try Double Negative since it won the yearly poll here. holy shit is it good. need to make my second listen a proper one, feel like there's so much detail in these tracks
― Vinnie, Friday, 17 May 2019 15:00 (five years ago) link
If you like this one there is lots of Low you'll likely also like, though no other Low is quite like this.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 17 May 2019 15:05 (five years ago) link
heh, yeah i had a similar post in the works
Low: Recommended if you like: Low
― these are not all of the possible side effects (Karl Malone), Friday, 17 May 2019 15:09 (five years ago) link
they're a fun band to get into at this stage, i imagine, because they've been consistently good and their catalog is large
― these are not all of the possible side effects (Karl Malone), Friday, 17 May 2019 15:10 (five years ago) link
Actually, the number of albums they have was sort of preventing me from even starting, but after hearing this, I'll definitely dive into more
― Vinnie, Friday, 17 May 2019 15:52 (five years ago) link
idk that I'd ever describe getting into Low as "fun" but there's really no bad points of entry, other than The Invisible Way (and even that one has some gems)
― Simon H., Friday, 17 May 2019 15:56 (five years ago) link
It''s a good question, though. If you are a fan of the most recent album, which is probably their most challenging album, which album do you go to next? Ones and Sixes? Drums and Guns? Things We Lost in the Fire?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 17 May 2019 15:59 (five years ago) link
D&G seems the most logical to me. I consider O&S mostly just a lesser, dry run for Double Negative now
― Simon H., Friday, 17 May 2019 16:00 (five years ago) link
I'll try Drums and Guns next, but I think I'll want to listen to Double Negative many more times first!
― Vinnie, Friday, 17 May 2019 16:11 (five years ago) link