Saturday, December 1, 2018

Low - Songs for a Dead Pilot

Low released this experimental EP in 1997.  Here, they started to push the boundaries of what Low sounded like.  It opens with a really strangely recorded version of Will the Night, with all the vocals and instrumentation relegated to the background, almost sounding like it came from a different room, and a kind of drone which follows the melody is given centre stage. 

The dead slow trudge through Condescend comes next, a wintry yet warm tune sung by Mimi Parker.  Speaking of trudges, the thirteen minute plus Born by the Wires is even slower and grimmer than Condescend.  A fragile, high pitched Alan Sparhawk vocal crawls across dissonant guitar rumbles, the track is kind of hard work.  The sinister, creeping Be There is quite minimal but works well, while Landlord is slow and foreboding.  Parker and Sparhawk's signature harmonies make an appearance on the sweetest, briefest, and final track, Hey Chicago. 

Definitely for committed fans rather than casual dabblers.

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