I would not describe Bowie's presence as either "absent" or "alarmingly in your face" as the editorial review does.  Having composed, or co-written, each of the 11 tracks and singing on at least 7, David Bowie is hardly absent.  The sheer beauty of this record belies any alarm, even when Bowie "post-punks" it out on the short tracks of the first half, exposing himself more than any listener, and hence, inoffensive yet stunning.  There is a haunting beauty and yet a bleakness to the tone of this record, coupled with a deep and gorgeous humanity within a foreboding futuristic urban-scape, wracked with anxiety, decay and hope.  Post modern, indeed, LOW is the first commercially viable Post Modern statement (if there is such a thing.)