<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"For the last decade, Duluth, Minn., trio Low has spearheaded the development of a new sound in the world of indie rock, most commonly referred to as \u201Cslow-core.\u201D Listen to any of the band\u2019s seven previous records (especially 2002\u2019s Trust, which pushes the formula to its natural limits), and you\u2019ll know what is meant by slow-core: rock whittled down to prehistoric basics, set to glacial tempos. The genre as defined by Low is haunting, ethereal and gorgeously sad. But 10 years of tearful snail-symphonies would wear on anyone, so it is with great relief (for the band itself and its open-minded fans) that the new Low record is decidedly faster, livelier and\u2014dare I say it\u2014more mainstream. \n\r\nOK, so mainstream isn\u2019t the right word, but different is. The Great Destroyer finds Low on the uber-hip label Sub Pop (the band previously favored Chicago indie label Kranky) with producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips). The result is an album that sounds a lot more guitar-pop than sloth-rock. Not that it\u2019s an overly produced corporate sellout; the album still retains the Low intimacy and innocence that so endears them to fans. It\u2019s still the original three (Mimi Sparks on drums, Alan Sparhawk on guitar, Zak Sally on bass) playing in a basement, though with a little more rhythm and noise energy than before. \n\r\nThe album-opener, \u201CMonkey,\u201D buzzes with growling guitar/bass, announcing a more aggressive Low. The angelic vocal harmonies of Sparks and Sparhawk (who are, incidentally, a happily married Mormon couple with children) hide the oblique weirdness of the lyrics (Tonight you will be mine / Tonight the monkey dies), which is common to the majority of the songs on the album. Track two, \u201CCalifornia,\u201D jumps headlong into sunny pacific pop, though again, the optimistic tone of the music scarcely reflects the sob-story lyrics: I know it breaks your heart / You had to sell the farm / Nights were just too long / With all your children gone.\n\r\nAnd the rest of the album plays out similarly\u2014a dichotomy of happy sounds and sad stories, and sometimes vice versa. The album\u2019s title comes from a story Sparhawk wrote about two characters, the Great Destroyer and the Silver Rider, who battle each other without realizing they are twin brothers. The concept fuels many of the lyrics directly and gives the whole album a sense of warring tension and confused identity. \"It's about not having answers,\u201D Sparhawk has said. \u201CIt's about having a moment when you realize you're the problem.\"\n\r\nThe lyrics occasionally reflect this story directly (as in the song \u201CSilver Rider,\u201D which recalls old-school slow-Low), but more broadly are infused with a sense of disappointment, loss and \u201Cthings fall apart\u201D destruction (hence the \u201CGreat Destroyer\u201D motif). Ah, yes: Low at their best. Tracks like \u201CEverybody\u2019s Song\u201D (which repeats the phrase Nothing stays together), \u201CJust Stand Back\u201D (Here comes the knife / You better just stand back / I could turn on you so fast) and \u201CWhen I Go Deaf\u201D (a climactic opus of sensory resignation) are perfect examples. \n\r\nThe album is a growth for the band, if only in its capacity for diversity. There are several more typically Low tracks (\u201CCue the Stings\u201D and \u201CBroadway (So Many People)\u201D are pure glacial melancholy) in between harder-edged rock songs like \u201CStep,\u201D which features handclaps, guitar solos and one of the most positive messages on the record: Hey, keep an eye on what you say / You think the words just walk away / But they're creepin' through my brain / Sinkin' deep into my step.\n\r\nThere are repeating images throughout the record, and one is highlighted in the chorus of \u201CCue the Strings\u201D: Here comes that cold sunrise. That image\u2014of hope and warmth on its way, despite the cold dead of winter, feels authentic on a literal level (the band is from Minnesota) as well as a symbolic one. Low represents a wonderful balance between darkness and light\u2014sadness as a form of happiness. They play music as a way of expressing the innate turmoil in life, if not their lives specifically (see \u201CDeath of a Salesman,\u201D which is the \u201Cwhy I sing\u201D manifesto of the album). \n\r\nThe Great Destroyer is an album that breaks down Low\u2019s formula and logically expands on it. With traces of optimism amid the dirges of destruction, Low transcends their former \u201Ccaricature of morbidly depressed indie rockers\u201D stereotype by becoming something that feels more honest and personal. For those who relish music that affirms their \u201Clife sucks\u201D mentality, this album may not be too appealing. Instead of being bitter and morose, Low exudes a peace and hopeful resignation that admits defeat while also affirming the possibility of redemption. It\u2019s all in the last lines of the final track, \u201CWalk into the Sea\u201D: Yeah, time's the great destroyer / Leaves every child a bastard / But when it finally takes us over / I hope we float away together.\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/reviews/3083-low-the-great-destroyer>