The Great Destroyer
How many bands make their best album ten years and seven discs into their career? Not many, but with *The Great Destroyer*, Low may have turned this trick. More a natural progression in the Duluth, Minnesota trio\'s development from one-trick slowcore ponies than a jarring reinvention, *The Great Destroyer* underscores Low\'s established strengths and sheds light on some new attributes, too. The austere, stately likes of \"Silver Rider\" and \"On the Edge Of\" sound most similar to Low\'s early work, while the sprawling \"Broadway\" and ominous \"Monkey\" seem to blaze new trails. Somewhere in the middle lies \"California,\" a tuneful, propulsive and finely sung pop gem that comes off classic from the first note. The album was tracked and mixed in part by Dave Fridmann, producer extraordinaire for the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev.
Formed in 1993, Low is a trio from Duluth, Minnesota comprised of guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk, percussionist/vocalist Mimi Parker and bassist Zak Sally. Throughout Low’s history, the band has accumulated acclaim from critics (“Low build big magic from so little” – Rolling Stone) and musicians (Radiohead hand-picked Low to open a string of dates in 2003). Initially garnering attention as leaders of the ‘90s slowcore movement, Low went on to develop a sonic repertoire that incorporated pop, R&B and dissonant rock n’ roll. With this kind of storied history, most people thought they had Low pegged. But then they turned in their Sub Pop debut, The Great Destroyer. The band’s seventh full-length album, The Great Destroyer is fascinating in that it blends the band’s austere melodies (“On the Edge Of,” “Silver Rider”) with an aggressive guitar onslaught (“Monkey,” “Everybody’s Song”) and even melds Low’s varied styles together into a single song (“When I Go Deaf”). Co-produced by Low and David Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev), The Great Destroyer is a welcome surprise and, in the end, a rock n’ roll revelation.
For their Dave Fridmann-produced Sub Pop debut, veteran slowcore band Low expand their palette, but achieve varying degrees of success.
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