LOW - Drums & Guns Review

For those who cried foul over The Great Destroyer, Low's 2005 debut for Sub Pop, a bit of calming down is in order. While Destroyer was marked by forays into poppy experimentation, the Duluth outfit are now ready to reclaim the slowcore ground they once lived upon. Although they utilize the same business model as their previous effort with producer Dave Fridmann at the helm, Drums and Guns is a study in the best of what makes Low, well... Low....full text Thinking of Low, one immediately calls to mind similar bands in what is a somewhat limited subgenre (often referred to as slowcore or sadcore). Among these bands, including Galaxie 500, Bedhead and others, Low are as much followers as they are innovators. Albums like Secret Name and Things We Lost in the Fire exemplify the best possibilities of their sound, wrought with as much emotion as any other album, yet communicated in quiet restraint....full text Drums And Guns is the umpteenth studio album from Low, a Minnesota collective who make atmospheric, melancholic, understated indie-rock that is widely dubbed "slow-core." That term suggests Low's music must be shticky and dull—and it sometimes is—but Drums And Guns is unsettling and cool; the lyrics are dark and the instrumentation is minimal and understated. ...full text