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Saturday 18 June 2011

Random Review #72 Low - The Great Destroyer

C3S10CD15 I know so little about Low I have had to do some research prior to writing this review. I knew they have been going a long time, but didn’t realise how long, (1993) and I thought they were from Minneapolis, I was wrong, Minnesota!(hey I was close, well maybe not geographically) I thought that that 2 of the band were married to each other, (I was right), I didn’t know they were Mormons, so maybe all of them are married to each other (sorry cheap joke).

What I do know is they make a great noise, I would have called it Lo-Fi but I’m not sure if that is the right term for it. To me it’s that dark music that is strangely gloomy whilst being uplifting if you know what I mean. This is their 8th album and seen by many as their most accessible, with fully formed tunes which have structure and form. In some music magazines it was seen as a crossover that with give them access to a mainstream rock audience, and I can see why, however I don’t think it deviated too much from the original sound of Low.

Monkey, California, and Everybody’s Song lead off the album and are drenched in effect pedal noise whilst delivering infectious hooks that demand you to sing along, (although from personal experience singing the line ‘Tonight The Monkey Dies’ out loud with your headphones on will get you strange looks any City never mind Newcastle!) This album can be dark in places (Walk into The Sea) but I never come away feeling depressed after listening to this album.

I couldn’t write about Low without mentioning their Christmas record strangely enough called Christmas. I have a lot of Christmas records (most quite left of centre) but this is one of my favourites, 4 original songs and 4 covers, all are broken down and given a Low work over and it’s a really special album.

I pick up Low’s music when I see it cheap but that’s a reflection of my buying habits rather than Low’s music but if you want something a little on the dark side then Low might be the band for you.

Mark 7/10


1 comment:

  1. One of those bands that for some reason I just don't get on with.
    No reason, makes no sense at all, but I guess we all have some like that (don't we!!)

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