Ones And Sixes

Even if you're not a hardcore slowcore fan, this could be your gateway drug, whether you like shoegaze or dreamy downtempo electronica or jangly pop or skeletal rock 'n' roll. Since Low released their first album in 1994, the Duluth, MN trio has moved away from the slowcore they helped invent. But as their music's gotten less languid and more overtly catchy, and as the band's added jagged electronics to their sound, Low's pensive intensity is only more visceral on their 11th album. The duets of married couple Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk are as grand and beautiful as ever, and these days every word they sing is bone-cutting in its vulnerability. The blending of warm guitar textures with frigid, compressed beats adds to the moody, understated power of these songs. I got full-body chills listening to this. Phenomenal. No FCCs. Picking favorites is tough, but why not start with 3, 7, 8, 10, 12?

1. (5:06)—Slow, dreamy, ominous, with a noisy, fuzzed out beat.
2. (5:00)—Slow, taut, tense, loping. Quasi doom-metal breakdown.
3. *(4:18)—Slow, dirge-like ambient gospel. Big, skyward choruses.
4. (3:52)—Medium-slow, chilly, with a tinny, minimal beat. Mimi Parker sings solo.
5. (2:49)—Medium-slow, distorted 60s jangle pop with lots of distortion.
6. (3:58)—Medium-slow, spacious, minimal electronica. Fans of The xx will love this.
7. *(3:09)—Mid-tempo, Cocteau Twins-ish, with a powerful duet and beautifully barbed lyrics.
8. *(4:23)—Medium-slow, plodding, big, with lava-like guitar. Reminds me of 80s Peter Gabriel.
9. (4:32)—Mid-tempo, driving, smooth, almost danceable.
10. *(4:16)—Medium-slow, mournful, majestic. Sparhawk sounds like he's about to break down crying, and Parker belts out some serious power-ballad vocals.
11. (9:51)—Slow, dark, menacing, heavy, rocking, climactic, tastefully abrasive.
12. *(5:56)—Medium-slow, icy, funereal. Annihilatingly anguished singing. Cavernous bass drop, cut-up vocals. “You want it all without the consequence. You want religion? You want assurance?”