Low - The Invisible Way - Printable Version +- Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com) +-- Forum: Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Alternative (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +--- Thread: Low - The Invisible Way (/showthread.php?tid=8324)

Low - The Invisible Way - Music Head - 19-03-2013 online listen now that'll put you to sleep must be that north country four border lines 1.2 from me and a converted 2.4 from allmusic website - http://chairkickers.com/ from the album - Plastic Cup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLkixoCA9RA released Mar 19th, 2013 Bio - from allmusic Formed in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1993, Low were perhaps the slowest of the so-called "slowcore" bands -- delicate, austere, and hypnotic, the trio's music rarely rose above a whisper, divining its dramatic tension in the unsettling open spaces created by the absence of sound. Initially comprised of the husband-and-wife team of guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk and drummer/vocalist Mimi Parker along with bassist John Nichols, Low began as an experimental reaction to the predominance of grunge. Shimmy Disc producer Kramer soon invited the group to record at his Noise N.J. studios, and the resulting demos earned them a deal with the Vernon Yard label. After reentering the studio with Kramer, Low emerged with their 1994 debut, I Could Live in Hope, a beautiful set spotlighting the trio's hauntingly minimal aesthetic -- even Parker's drum set consisted of only a snare and a hi-hat. Nichols exited the group prior to 1995's lovely Long Division, recorded with new bassist Zak Sally. A subsequent appearance on the Joy Division tribute A Means to an End was later expanded into the following year's Transmission EP, a five-track set also featuring a rendition of Supreme Dicks' "Jack Smith." With new producer Steve Fisk behind the boards, Low returned later in 1996 with The Curtain Hits the Cast. The Songs for a Dead Pilot EP followed in 1997 and marked Low's debut with their new label, Kranky, for whom they also released the critically acclaimed Secret Name in 1999. The late '90s also saw them issue Owl (Low Remixes) and the Christmas mini-album, which featured a cover of "Little Drummer Boy" that became a minor hit when it was featured in The Gap's holiday season commercials in 2000. The band's brilliant Things We Lost in the Fire arrived on Kranky in 2001, with the darker, more subdued Trust coming the following year. Two years later, the B-sides/rare tracks collection A Lifetime of Temporary Relief appeared on Low's own Chairkickers Music imprint. For their seventh full-length album, 2005's The Great Destroyer, Low moved to Sub Pop, where they remained for 2007's politically charged Drums and Guns and 2011's C'mon, the latter of which marked the debut of bassist Steve Garrington. In 2013, Low's 20th anniversary year, the group released The Invisible Way, which featured production from Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. Album Review - from allmusic An institution of slowcore, one of indie rock's more bittersweet subsets, Low began making huge and haunted sounds out of the most minimal means in the early '90s. The Invisible Way finds the trio 20 years into its craft and returning to parts of its roots while at the same time branching into new sounds. The most noticeable shifts in the band's sound come with the production of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, working with the band for the first time here. While much of Low's work clung to a formula of reverb and echo that their earliest records took to extremes, the 11 songs here are roomy but not obscured by cavernous sounds. Instead, tracks like "Holy Ghost" and "Amethyst" glow with an earthy sheen, finding their spaciousness more in subtle touches of acoustic instruments and perfectly placed accents of guitar than post-production techniques. The songwriting here harks back somewhat to the understated pastoral majesty of early Low records like Long Division and The Curtain Hits the Cast, with the band creating mysterious and lush beauty by slowing down and lingering over long, thoughtful chord changes and glimmering harmonies. Following more aggressive sidesteps in the band's discography like 2005's The Great Destroyer and 2007's bleak and cacophonous Drums and Guns, the return to basics is refreshing, and the even more naked production is a perfect complement to the songs. Drummer/vocalist Mimi Parker sings lead on an unprecedented five songs on this album. Her layered harmonies, pristine but never brittle, make songs like "So Blue" and "Four Score" stand out, at once familiar to Low's melancholic grandeur but with a new confidence not heard before. Parker's sure-footed vocals anchor the Yo La Tengo-channeling upbeat push of standout track "Just Make It Stop," delivering desperate lines over hopeful melodic chord shifts. Guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk continues his part of the band's evolution as well, offering quizzical and sometimes meandering lyrics for tracks like "Plastic Cup" and "Clarence White," both of which are epic in contrast to the single-line couplets that defined earlier Low albums. With its brilliant production values and carefully curated arrangements, The Invisible Way shows a band decades into making music but still in a very real state of evolution. While not quite a career-definitive statement, much like the aforementioned Yo La Tengo, Wilco, Belle & Sebastian, or any of the early-'90s bands still exploring their sound, Low give us a definitive chapter for where they are presently, and present it with more clarity and joy than we've heard from them in some time. Track Listing 1. Plastic Cup 2. Amethyst 3. So Blue 4. Holy Ghost 5. Waiting 6. Clarence White 7. Four Score 8. Just Make It Stop 9. Mother 10. On My Own 11. To Our Knees Low - The Invisible Way - CRAZY-HORSE - 20-03-2013 i like the vocals on the link also the music, just dont like the melody of the vocals...its the same thing all the way through...no variation whatsoever!, had it had a decent sounding chorus or Middle8 to spice it up a bit i might have said "this is great" but alas im with you on this one MH. Low - The Invisible Way - Music Head - 20-03-2013 the clip was one of the more upbeat tunes you nailed it though, there is no variation in the vocals it became a droning sound needed more music for me