Send "Retribution Gospel Choir " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Retribution Gospel Choir, the more rocking part-time gig of Low frontman Alan Sparhawk, have a harder hill to climb on their sophomore record. For one, their 2008 LP reprised some songs that, though first played live by RGC, debuted on record on Low's 2007 LP, Drums and Guns. The differences between the versions was fascinating, as was hearing RGC release all the tension that Low so carefully maintain. It made sense to finally document a project that had been running for a few years. And there was the added novelty of hearing Alan Sparhawk singing and playing guitar in an honest-to-god rock'n'roll band-- and the surprise of hearing him pull it off. But the novelty is not an issue on 2. RGC now have to justify themselves as a stand-alone act-- and fortunately, they acquit themselves just as ably as they did on their debut.It's a record of sharp hooks and slick production, with several anthemic and instantly memorable choruses, all evident from the very first track. "Hide It Away" blends chest-beating harmonies and moments of quieter guitar jangle with the band's familiar surging 4/4 rock. It's as sweetly melodic as anything Sparhawk has written, but with unfettered, audacious confidence and a guitar solo gliding on heavy reverb-- more stumping on their campaign to become a current-day Crazy Horse. "Your Bird" follows up on the teeth-gritting bile of their debut with some added catchiness. And "Working Hard" toys with rock convention without inhabiting it completely, toning down the verses to a quieter shuffle and adding slyly nihilistic lyrics while still milking the handclaps and blue-collar guitar chug of the chorus for all they're worth....full text |
| Dustedmagazine |
| Undermining expectations can only get you so far, something that the three members of Retribution Gospel Choir seem to have taken to heart when making their second album. Their self-titled debut boasted solid, catchy songs, ably produced by Mark Kozelek. It did much to shift perceptions of the musical range of singer-guitarist Alan Sparhawk, best known for the music made with his wife Mimi Parker in Low. The Sparhawk heard here seemed to be channeling all of the emotions kept restrained in his more well-known group, and the rhythm section of Eric Pollard and Steve Garrington yielded a sound that left appropriate tribute at the altar of Neil Young. Retribution Gospel Choir’s drums pounded, the guitars raged, and there was even space for one cheeky “Amen” delivered as the song “Kids” came to a close. Once you’ve established that your range extends far beyond slow-burning meditations on morality, mortality, and family, what comes next? 2 stands as the point where the group’s sound expands further: from, for lack of a better phrase, a kind of not-Low to a distinctive identity of their own. Does it work? It does—but the great surprise of this album may be that Retribution Gospel Choir sound their best when their mood is at its most subdued. 2’s guitars are bigger than those heard on the group’s debut, with a more forceful emphasis on pop hooks. “Working Hard” and “Hide It Away” are, quite simply and unabashedly, hard rock songs, and catchy ones at that. (Perhaps it’s just the similarity in titles, but the former doesn’t seem too far removed from the Constantines’ “Working Fulltime.”) And both contain guitar solos that recall Mark Kozelek at his most soaring....full text |
| Spin |
| In recent years, slowcore pioneers Low have forcefully shaken their defining somberness and dabbled in what actually might be called rock. So it wasn't a total shock in 2008 when singer-guitarist Alan Sparhawk formed Retribution Gospel Choir -- essentially Low minus angel-voiced wife/drummer Mimi Parker -- to canoodle with more classic sounds. What's more surprising is how naturally he's made the shift. The band's second album gets a bit hackneyed at times (bar-rockin' trifle "White Wolf"), but Sparhawk generally seems re-energized, channeling Crazy Horse ("Poor Man's Daughter") and crafting the sort of genuinely rousing chorus ("Hide It Away") that Low never would've indulged....full text |
Retribution Gospel Choir lyrics
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