Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, the husband-and-wife duo at the core of Low, have always expressed themselves beautifully and usually extremely quietly on their records. Sparhawk and Parker are Mormons, Minnesotans and old enough to be your parents, so they never seemed out of place in defining the “slowcore” genre of minimalist rock that emerged in the early-90s. Until now, all their work, from their 1994 debut, I Could Live in Hope, to their 2001 masterwork, Things We Lost in the Fire, has been characterized by a quiet solemnity matched with simple writing and stripped-down, arguably dull production.
This makes The Great Destroyer hard to explain. For their seventh studio release, Low has created the loudest and most exciting album of their career. The Great Destroyer is a deeply personal and touching album, but the introduction of legendary producer Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips) has led to a far larger album than anyone ever expected from Low.
The huge tribal drums and layers of feedback that open “Monkey” come as a surprise, and the jarringly uncharacteristic themes of addiction, seduction and deception only add to the effect. Lead single “California” is something of a disappointment lyrically, but the near-perfect combination of the dark “Everybody’s Song” and the gorgeous “Silver Rider” more than make up for it. The album drags a bit in the middle, especially with the seven-minute “Broadway,” but there are enough gems, notably the Radiohead-esque “Cue the Strings,” that the missteps can easily be overlooked.
In some ways, even the orchestral majesty of The Great Destroyer can be overlooked. It’s still clearly a Low album, even if this time around Mimi Parker is playing a full drum kit and Alan Sparhawk allows himself the occasional solo. This is still the sort of album we’d expect from Low, only far more fun to listen to. Lets hope the trend continues.
