Low
Low, from a town called Duluth in Minnesota, currently number husband and wife team Alan Sparhawk on guitar and vocals, Mimi Parker on drums and vocals and most recent addition Matt Livingston on bass.
They formed in 1993, after Sparhawk had been jamming over some very quiet, slow songs ‘as a joke’ with first bassist John Nichols when the two fellows were meant to be rehearsing songs to perform as part of the band Zen Arcade. The success (and lack of any frivolity) to the ‘joke’ lead to the duo leaving Zen Arcade and recruiting Sparhawk’s wife Mimi to play a tiny drumkit and sing on songs full time for the band who would become known simply as Low.
Nichols however would only stick around to perform on the band’s first album ‘I Could Live In Hope’, being replaced by Zak Sally by the time the band were to record the follow up ‘Long Division’. Those two records, along with the succeeding ‘The Curtain Hits The Cast’, were all released as the result of a tumultuous relationship with Virgin Records imprint Vernon Yard, and as such a move to the indie label Kranky was on the cards for the release of ‘Secret Name’ and the band’s masterpiece, ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’, both records recorded with the aid of Shellac’s Steve Albini.
The band released many singles, EPs and other material (including a Christmas album as a gift to fans) in the time between full length records, perhaps the most interesting being ‘In The Fishtank’, an album length collaboration with instrumental legends Dirty Three, and also continue to run a record label, Chairkickers Union, to promote their local Duluth scene.
Low also developed a reputation as a fantastically unique live act, their often deathly slow and fragile way of performing being unlike any other outfit on the rock circuit. When faced with aggressive or overly chatty audiences, legend has it they would even turn their instruments down until the crowd noise subsided, forcing people to pay attention. In concert, to this day they remain utterly spellbinding, often delivering bracingly altered and frankly brilliant cover versions, including takes on work by The Smiths, Joy Division and Outkast, as well as radical reinterpretations of their own recorded work.
Low’s last record for Kranky would be ‘Trust’. This time recorded with Eric Swanson and Tchad Blake, for a time it looked as if it would be long-term bassist Zak Sally’s final outing with the band also, the band posting various messages prompting an ‘is he isn’t he’ debate amongst fans as to Sally’s status as a full time member of the band. However, on a European tour with Radiohead in 2003 (during which Mimi was visibly pregnant with her and Alan’s second child), Zak Sally was indeed up there with Mimi and Alan, playing bass as he always had, and was part of the line up that signed to Sub Pop the following year, after releasing a three disc rarities compilation for Kranky.
Their first release for the legendary Sub Pop was the culmination of a distinct growth in sonic stature for the band. With the aid of Dave Fridmann, famed for his work with the Flaming Lips, they recorded ‘The Great Destroyer’, perhaps their loudest and simultaneously breeziest record yet, and again went on tour around the US and Europe. However, the second leg of the tour was cancelled, Sparhawk, with extreme sorrow, citing his ongoing struggle with mental illness as the reason for the cancellation in an open and frank letter to fans on the band’s own forum. During their hiatus, Zak Sally finally did quit the band also, to focus on running Lamano, his comic art press in Minnesota, and would later be replaced by Matt Livingston.
Sparhawk’s return to music was the release of ‘Solo Guitar’, an improvisational and wholly instrumental record of guitar music radically different from anything he’d recorded with Low. A further departure for the band comes with ‘Drums and Guns’, their album released this week which eschews the breezy rock aesthetic of its predecessor and instead uses vocal and keyboard loops, haunting harmonies and jarring noise-laden segments to deliver statements on the general terror of having to be alive in 2007.
Second and fourth photographs down by Tim Soter, middle photograph by Randy Bacon.
LOW – LONDON, UK – WINTER 2001: One from the archives, this – we caught up with Mimi, Alan and then bassist Zak Sally for an interview six years back, around the release of the awesome ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’.
LOW OFFICIAL: Straight from the horse’s mouth, here you’ll get Low news as it happens (often via the band themselves on their forum), along with videos, tour dates, and all else Low-related you could wish for.
CHAIRKICKERS: When not in Low, Alan and Mimi put out records by other great bands like Kid Dakota through their Chairkickers Union label. Meet them here.
ALAN SPARHAWK’S LETTER TO FANS: When Low had to cancel their 2005 tour, Alan left fans this open and frank list of compelling reasons and regrets. If only all bands treated their admirers with this much respect eh?
SUB POP RECORDS: The legendary label who now release Low’s records needs no introduction, but if you’re the kind of person who does require an introduction, you really, really gotta visit this site, and now.
THE GREAT DESTROYER: Our review of Low’s most accessible record to date, and easily one of their finest.
TRUST: The band’s final release for Kranky, as our review attests, was of course a total treat.
CANADA: A single from the aforementioned ‘Trust’ LP, this was pretty fantastic too. Thank God we don’t get bored of calling them brilliant.
LOW @ THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, 2005: With Chairkicker Union’s Kid Dakota in support, Low graced the plush festival hall with a stunning set.
LOW PERFORMING ‘THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE’ @ KOKO, 2006: As part of All Tomorrow’s Parties’ Don’t Look Back season, Low gather nearly every person who played on their classic LP to run through it in full, live. WOW.
LOW @ THE SPITZ, 2007: Seeing this most low key and intimate of performances was nothing short of an honour, basically.