Sounds Like: The beautiful final form of one of rock’s most original bands. 

I don’t talk about Low enough, for what they have meant to me. I remember wrapping up a shift at the art store I worked at in South Philly one Friday night, and facing a train ride home, I decided to head next door to Spaceboy to find some new music. The place was packed, too much to casually browse without an agenda. As I was leaving, on the counter in their recommended spot was Low’s latest offering: a collection of rarities and B-sides. The staff had written a little note on it: “The perfect music to explore the fabric of your couch to.” That was all I needed, I was in.

That’s where my love affair with Low started. No other band has been able to evolve as dynamically as they have while still being so consistently LOW.  “Hey What” is a prime example fo this.  It’s is a noisy record, glitchy and at times terrifying, but also beautiful and delicate.  “Hey What” continues the experimentation they pushed on 2018’s “Double Negative,” but here they really find the perfect balance. While I enjoy “Double Negative,” it’s a challenging listen, at times impenetrable.  “Hey What” takes what really worked there, but brings back some of the band’s calling cards and put them stronger in the mix: the harmonies, the tunefulness.

The result is stunning, a wild bombastic album that feels like a love letter from dystopian nightmare. It has enough skronks a squees to keep you on the edge of your seat, but some really sweet tunes that will keep you coming back. It folds together with precision of a Swiss watch.  Every time I think Low have found their final form, they completely shed their skin and reemerge with a new formidable sound. No other band pushes their music harder, unwilling to settle for the simple version of the song, and we get to reap the rewards; the dizzying high of loving Low.

Favorite Track:  Where do I start? If I have to pick one “Days Like These” perfectly captures that balance I described.  At time floating light as feather, other times crashing down with the weight of a thousand falling pianos.