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Low
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The Great Destroyer
Sub Pop Records
Release: 1/25/2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Jason Warner
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Low is a band that plays slow, somber music. The Great
Destroyer is the new album from the Duluth, Minnesota
based band made up of husband and wife, Alan Sparhawk and
Mimi Parker on guitar and drums respectively, with Zak Sally
on bass. The Great Destroyer, Low's 7th full
length, and first since signing with Sub Pop, reads like a fifty-
two minute suicide note. Yet, I am compelled to read this note
over and over again looking for undiscovered details. And I
never fail to find them. The orchestration of this album is just
short of brilliant. The myriad of sounds produced by the three
members of Low makes The Great Destroyer a
headphone masterpiece… Perfect soundtrack music for lying on
your bed and thinking about life.
I am not a veteran fan of Low, but I found myself looking up
their other releases on the internet after I listened to The
Great Destroyer a few times. At first I was confused. I
had heard of Low, but never really understood what could
possibly be so interesting about a couple of Mormons making
slow boring music. The first couple listens still had me
questioning my prejudiced opinion, as I heard music that was
not slow and boring, but rather slow and full of lush textures
and sonic experimentation outside the realm of my usual
listening.
The Great Destroyer is full of great guitar tones,
simple drums and basic bass parts, all arranged in a minimalist
fashion. Sparhawk digs deep into his pile of effects for this
album, which normally for me is not a good thing. However,
the use of effects for Low seems to be more about the tasteful
application of certain sounds for certain parts, like ingredients
in a secret sonic recipe. In addition to guitars there are some
tasty drum loops, synth parts, and some processed noises that
all add to the landscape and make The Great
Destroyer an interesting drive through a very dark
night.
The album opens with "Monkey," a sort of Peter Gabriel
meets The Talking Heads type of song complete with laser
synth intro. The mood shifts gears for "California," a track
with pop sensibility and lyrics that conjure images of a tired
farmer selling the farm and returning to "California where it's
warm." The rest of the album tends toward the mellower,
less pop sounds that Low is famous for. I am one of those
people that pay more attention to the music than the vocals,
but Low has given me cause to pause. Rich melodies and
haunting duo, male/female harmonies are found throughout
the album, a detail that some listeners might find
monotonous, but which I found refreshing. "Step" and
"Silver Rider" are also standout tracks, but for the most part
I found I enjoyed listening to the whole album from start to
finish rather than one track at a time.
The Great Destroyer is a dark album, full of
dark lyrics and dark music, but sometimes that's just what
you need. |
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