One of the most fascinating re-inventions of recent years musically has been what's been going on with Duluth, Minnesota's Low. They've always been a contrary bunch, going back to their early days in the Mid-Nineties, where they chose quietness and space as a response to Grunge and it's great to see them continuing to operate in their own space with latest album HEY WHAT.
It's a fascinating record, immediately arresting and surprising, building on the impact of the band's last record, 2018's Double Negative but also doing something different again. The grey, static sleeve of the record gives some indication of the sparse, disembodied, eerie mood of the record itself.
This is slightly more approachable than Double Negative in that it foregrounds melody and places less immediate emphasis on alienation as a key ingredient, but it's still a very odd and particular album. But it uses melody so skillfully that there are moments when this becomes a Pop album, if one of the oddest Pop albums you've ever heard.
It's wonderful to see bands that determine to do their own thing and this is quite definitely Low's own thing. This takes its lead if anything from pioneers like Wire and My Bloody Valentine without sounding anything like either of them or for that matter like anyone else. An absolutely intriguing record that pitches its tent away from the crowd in a remote stretch of the field.
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