Some band have years behind them; others have light years behind them. When artists create their own universe inside a music industry, they stay supernova stars forever, no matter how big their sales are. Low released their first album in 1994 and they are sky rocking the lowcore scene ever since. This year, they imploded again with their eleventh album Ones and Sixes.
Even though they never wanted for their music to be characterized as slowcore, it has become a notorious thopos for them; for a reason – Low are truly a pioneers of the genre. Melancholic sound saturated with sadness and desire, with just a sprinkle of happier notes, is certainly their trademark. We will not say their songs are depressive. The sooner you define something, the sooner it starts dying. If you truly dig deep into their discography, you will notice there are many emotional layers only true music lovers will appreciate.
Ones and Sixes offers the same modus operandi, being the most similar to their Drums and Guns album. Twelve songs showcase band’s eclectic style and idiosyncratic sound even though they are not widely known or commercially successful. These songs are high quality. Mixing slow core with elements of indie rock, dream pop and post-rock resulted in a dreamy research of human’s psyche. Lyrics are minimalistic and raw, without any pretension metaphors, making this album even more attractive. It is always better to stand behind your own words than to hide behind your own words.
No Comprender is a touchdown of the album. The sad vocal is reminiscing The Great Destroyer, in even more compelling manner. Into You and What Part Of Me are another great melancholic tunes gratified with a little bit of sarcasm in lyrics. Even when they are singing about love, Low keep the distance from writing and manage to turn love discourse into something intelligently ironic. Some instrumental parts of the album are like Bermuda triangle between the brain, the heart and the mouth. Words are simply missing and it’s mesmerizing.
At the end of album, song called The Innocents is the best indicator of their infamous slowcore method. Melancholy has never sounded so thrilling. This is one of the bends that never disappoints their fans.
