Low: Classic or classic?

since we're attempting to trace possible electronic music antecedents to the new Low sound, the first thing that came to mind when reading Burton comments about deleting the drums and using 'negative space' as a rhythmic device was Pan Sonic

for me though, what is most compelling is not Burton's production—which isn't really that unsual for those of us familiar with experimental electronic music, noise, etc.—but the band's openness and commitment to this new structural approach. I just love this sense of adventurousness and curiosity about finding new ways to articulate their songs, it speaks volumes to their intelligence and integrity as artists that they're still out here taking risks when they could be coasting on their rep, and this latest album shows that it's not just a late-career anomaly but a genuine development. it's really inspiring!

It's like finding out the Doors didn't use bass. except for a band I actually care about lol

― Vinnie, Sunday, October 3, 2021 6:12 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Nah they used killer session guys on the records, Larry Knetchel from the Wrecking Crew, Harvey Brooks (Dylan,Miles Davis), Jerry Scheff (Elvis), Lonnie Mack and some others

If you watch the Instagram video Alan posted of his pedal chain on "More" it's pretty amazing how he's able to come up with much of the noise and randomness without too much studio trickery. One of his pedals iirc was kind of a boutique harmonizer with all these randomizer attributes, which really helps fill in the space but also, and more importantly, accents and emphasizes all these overtones brought out by the distortion pedals. That's one reason I was surprised there were no synths on the record (though I guess in the video Alan *is* using a guitar synth pedal). Various drones and notes sort of appear and hover mysteriously in the background, but what I just figured were keyboard drones were actually the decay and delay of the guitar attack being randomly held, modulated and mutated.

Yeah, I just watched that video and it’s amazing how clean the melody is at first before he turns on the synth and metal(?) pedals. Goes from sounding by the books Low to a riff that could’ve been on a Deftones album.

Trust came out nineteen years ago today, and so I've been listening while withstanding an absolutely slammed day at work. Stealing away from my current task to say that this record remains one of my favorites of theirs, particularly in terms of lyrical content— there's a sinister quality to the lyrics here that is comparatively unrivalled, if sometimes approached, by other albums.

I also think that my first experiences of this record are a perfect way to encounter it— listening to it on repeat on long bike rides on lonely roads past flat Ohio cornfields.

going to start the poll next week if anyone wants to start thinking about it

Yes, please do it ufo! I'm actually nearly complete with listening to all their albums at this point. Long Division was the latest for me - a few excellent songs in the first half but not as strong as Curtain Hits the Cast, which has a similar mood

my ballot will be ready

I hope people don't hesitate to trust their instincts on where to rank the HEY WHAT songs.

I don't generally participate in polls, because my mind has moved beyond being able to rank anything, but this band would be particularly difficult, since so many of their songs kind of fit the same mode and none of them are bad. Plus, there are so many of them!

So, hats off, you OCD lunatics!

I thought we were doing an albums poll, a songs poll...i don't know if I can do that.

as in, that's not something I've ever even considered.

albums is hard enough.

Ha, I'm not even sure I could rank the albums.

I could do it, but the top 5 would be agonizing.

Right now, though, the first record is my favorite.

Because this band's so consistent, the top 10 songs and top 5 albums are probably going to surprise no matter what places. Can't wait.

I keep loose tabs on my fave Low songs, I could get a Top 25 fairly easily

Do You Know How to POLLtz?: ILM Artist Poll #111 - Low

here it is

They opened for one of the Yo La Tengo's Hanukkah shows last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD5Xa510XuE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLYmrHBzMqI

great video, especially the first half. i feel bad, i ended up playing the youtube on mute at 0.5x speed, along with the streaming track, so that the video cuts were twice as slow for the first few minutes - there are some really beautiful shots in there that just go by too fast at 1 per second

Here's a wonderful, intimate, rare interview with Mimi about their career — she talks about their beginnings, life on the road, balancing the band/marriage aspects, and her faith. She also shares she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in December 2020 and went through chemo and surgery from January to August last year (thankfully she's on the other side now!):

https://www.mixcloud.com/SHEROES/sheroes-radio-episode-58-featuring-mimi-parker-of-low/

wow thanks for sharing

I had noticed her wearing a hat during the weekly sessions when she was there but never thought that was going on - thank gxd she's over it

Seeing them tonight, stoked.

Also seeing them tonight. Got a nice front and center spot at the balcony. Ready for this building to break in half.

Predictably but still kind of surprisingly, mostly songs from the last three albums, with a focus on the new one and only one or two from before that (and only one or two from before *that*). But what more could anyone want from a band than what they do every night and on every album?

so was it good or not

It was good! They're always good!

my ex saw the show, last minute ticket replacement. i always talked and listened to low but she didn't really like them. she came away absolutely worshipping them, instant megafan. i saw low once, but it was when they were making their worst albums. there are only a few years of low that I don't absolutely worship myself, and it was during that time i saw themn. but she was so glad and happy about the show that she actually thanked ME for some reason, by text, afterward, like i had anything at all to do with it! it doesn't make sense but it completely does, sometimes when you're introduced to the thing you love you want to acknowledge everyone and everything along the way leading up

well, that did it, i'm seeing low for the first time at the end of march

Jealous of you all, probably #1 band I want to see live at this point

I've seen them several times spanning back to 'Drums & Guns,' and they'ce always been sublime, often in very different ways. On the D&G tour, they almost "played angry," and it really worked. But they seemed at the absolute pinacle of their powers--able to conjure intimate near-sikence and brain-melting squalls--on the 'Double Negative' tour. and having the best time, the most talkative after the show. I'm so glad they're taking chances and getting widespread love for it--seems to be fueling them in a positive way.

I'm set to see them April 1st, and if I can psyche myself up to be in a crowd for the first time in 2 years, I'm very excited to hear how they're interpreting 'Hey What' live. But I am very far from feeling comfortable with the idea of spending hours indoors in close proximity with a lot of people...

"Pinnacle of their powers" is a good way to put it. They've always done their thing, and slow and steady does indeed win the race, but they've been more comfortable and confident in recent years than I've ever seen them. I don't want to make assumptions, but I feel like Alan's disposition started to shift a little somewhere around "Drums and Guns." He's always been personable, as far as I can tell, but I know he's had mental health challenges in the past and it was almost like a change in treatments or self-care habits kicked in or something.

i do think it's been bumpy - i remember going to see Retribution Gospel Choir (Low side-project) about 10 years ago, at Sala - a 250-cap venue in montreal. There were maybe 50 people there? watching them pack up the van, after the show - you had the real sense of middle-age musicians feeling the burden of the long grind.

Being reminded that the debut came out 28 years ago today took me back in time -- first time I saw them was two months before that release, started in with "Words" and I was sold. Just a quiet room in UC Irvine's student union center, about thirty of us maybe.

Saw them for the first time on the Double Negative tour--agree with JiC that "pinnacle of their powers" puts it well. I felt a rush and clarity after the show that lasted for days. They're playing a seated venue next time they come to Phoenix, I'm hoping that it doesn't diminish their power.

Pretty sure they'd be just as good playing to an empty room. I'd like to see them performing in a huge empty arena.

Just bought tix for the DC show. I'm a casual fan at the most, but stoked for the experience. They seem like very cool people who are more than deserving of support.

a little annoyed that my most viable option to see them in southern california is as part of a multi-day music festival. considering it anyway since said festival is about 3 miles from where i live and there's a bunch of other acts i'm interested in, but still...

I've talked about seeing them live for the first time in 2002… and tbh, I kind of think that was the best performance I've seen from them. That also might be my bias toward their older work, tho-- I love the two most recent records but think they pale in comparison to the older records, but I've also said that to death.

Depends on how much the tickets are, tbh- 20 bucks, I'll go..more than that? Eh.

i saw low before 'things we lost in the fire,' i think, at a tiny comedy club in provo. everyone sat on the floor. that's all i remember about it.

oh holy shit they're playing provo on this tour lol. no way in hell am i driving to utah county to see them play for a bunch of alterna-momrmons, yuuuuck. this is why i can't with this band.

Ah shit, my friends are opening for em, maybe I can wangle a freebie.

i saw low before 'things we lost in the fire,' i think, at a tiny comedy club in provo. everyone sat on the floor. that's all i remember about it.

― Nedlene Grendel as Basenji Holmo (map), Friday, 18 February 2022 18:56 (twenty-three minutes ago) link

When they were playing like the Entry in Mpls the crowd sitting on the floor was kinda of charming, when the moved to the Mainroom it was much less charming, plus the there was lot of in-crowd policing of behavior, I got shushed before the show even started once

They could also be kind of prickly/weird (Zak not facing the audience)...I remember the release party for "Things" at one point Alan asked if anyone had any requests, it was a decent sized theater & everyone starts yelling stuff. He listens intently for a couple of minutes then goes "ok...well we aren't playing any of that" and there was an audible gasp. Haha.

I saw them probably 8 or 10 times between 1995 and 2001, and every show was one to remember (even the first one where they opened for Soul Coughing and were drowned out by drunken boos).

Then I didn't see them again until the Double Negative tour and they were just as brilliant if not more so. I regret missing them for so many years and recommend to anyone, no matter how casual a fan you might be, to see them live.

Same, I saw them pretty regularly up through "Trust" and didn't see another normal (not drone gig or quick hit on a multi-band bill) show until "Double Negative" where they just blew me away

see them play for a bunch of alterna-momrmons

alterna-mormon couples with two kids named jasper and wren who are going to be married with kids in 3-5 years.

I actually saw them for free at Hardly Strictly in 2013, the year my least favorite Low album was released, and that show was pretty lovely— they did the Rihanna cover, plus a few older songs that I knew all the lyrics to, as well as some stuff from TIW.

a little annoyed that my most viable option to see them in southern california is as part of a multi-day music festival. considering it anyway since said festival is about 3 miles from where i live and there's a bunch of other acts i'm interested in, but still...

I'm holding out for a San Diego show to be added. I haven't seen them live since 1995.