Kranky, 2001
Acquired: Dave's Records, Chicago, IL, New, 2007
Price: $18
There's a story behind this one. I picked this one in Chicago while Annie and I were there during Spring Break 2007. Dave's Records was just a few blocks from our hostel and I decided to head down there while she was taking a shower. So I go, and I browse, and I find this record which I thought was out of print but really I was just wrong. But I bought it and that was cool because this is probably the best Low record and my favorite. Then, as I'm browsing some more I get a call from Annie's mom who tells me that she got locked out of our room and that I need to go let her in. Hence, I checked out and went back. I wanted to browse some more and I think we might have gone back on our way to lunch. But anyhow, every record here has a story. This record is really, really, really really good and it never really lets up. It has the serene, quiet pop numbers like “Sunflower,” “Dinosaur Act,” and “Laser Beam” to the long, moody numbers like “Whore” and “In Metal.” Actually, they're all moody. This whole record is about moodiness. It sounds like someone just died, actually, and somehow I mean that in a good way. It's graceful, how about that? It's sad but uplifting, depressing but it doesn't make me want to kill myself. Surprisingly, Low puts on one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Let's just say, this is not music to listen to if you are in a cheerful mood. It's perfect for autumn and winter, for nights when the furnace is running full blast. Mimi Parker's vocals on “Whore” get me every time. They're so thin! And once Alan Sparhawk comes in it just warms everything up to this unsettlingly beautiful degree. I spent a good year trying to find “Like a Forest.” “It's the one that goes 'Take Your Time,'” but it wasn't the song “Take Your Time.” Then they played it live when I saw them a couple months ago and I found it while transcribing the setlist. That song kills. The beautiful harmonies that flow through the verse giving the song a lilt before bringing it all the way down for the chorus and building it right back up replete with violins! Just one reason why I adore this record. Also, one of the best album titles of all time.
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