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Album of the Week #33: "Drums + Guns" by Low

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  • 02-05-2007 9:56am
    #1
    John
    Registered Users Posts: 12,135 ✭✭✭✭


    Considering these guys are playing next week, I thought it would be cool to look at their new album. I was a little disappointed with it at first, it seemed half finished or something but it's grown on me A LOT. What do you think?


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    #2
    dalk
    Registered Users Posts: 566 ✭✭✭dalk


    Well, i give this a thumbs up. Have listened to it a lot since it was released. Great album, but then Low are consistently good. Production is more sparse, percussive and raw than normal, but then the major themes of the album is war, outrage and sorrow, so its appropriate.


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    #3
    Lunar Junkie
    Registered Users Posts: 181 ✭✭Lunar Junkie


    I still have mixed opinions on Drums and Guns... I feel pretty much the same on it as I did with their last album, which is that I think it's a very strong set of material, but I'm not so sure that they did it all justice on the recordings... The hardline arrangment\production techniques benefit some of the songs and kind of destroy others, I think (i.e. the paring back to just a couple of instruments on each track, and squeezing all the vocals down one side). I'm glad that they're still taking risks and trying new ideas but I think that if they'd shown a bit more discretion in how this was put together they might've ended up with a really great album instead of a good but flawed one. I do think that the closing 5 songs are among the strongest of their career..


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    #4
    John
    Registered Users Posts: 12,135 ✭✭✭✭John


    I have to agree with you Lunar Junkie, they could have made this a lot better than it is (although that being said, mediocre Low ****s on most bands and this is better than mediocre). Some of the songs they've been playing live for a while, some of them were better live with the regular vocals, guitar, bass, drums set up, others work better with the drum machines and stripped down approach.


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    #5
    Frankiestylee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,325 ✭✭✭Frankiestylee


    I kept meaning to get this but now the gig is two days away :( . As it's the album of the week I take it it's worth the buy :)


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    #6
    John
    Registered Users Posts: 12,135 ✭✭✭✭John


    Yes it is! (I'm surprised no one is discussing this, boo-urns boards users!)


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    #7
    Lunar Junkie
    Registered Users Posts: 181 ✭✭Lunar Junkie


    Are we allowed to discuss the Low gig? I would've done so but for some reason I thought it might be promoted by you-know-who. Really looking forward to it, I missed them the last 2 times they played here because of it coinciding with college end-of-year projects. I've heard some great recordings from their recent shows, they seem to be on top live form at the moment.. They mix up the Drums and Guns newies (some of which are much better live, in my opinion) with a good selection of stuff from their whole career to date. The new bass player seems to have slotted in pretty well also.


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    #8
    indiewindy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭indiewindy


    Its been promoted by Aiken promotions:)


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    #9
    Lunar Junkie
    Registered Users Posts: 181 ✭✭Lunar Junkie


    So, anybody else go see Low in The Village the other evening? Fantastic show.. they opened with a salvo of about 5 or 6 songs from the new album and then gave us some classics like July, Embrace, Starfire.. Pissing and Silver Rider off the last album were real highlights - I think the Great Destroyer stuff grows a lot in live performance (Silver Rider being slightly spoiled by some guy right behind me belting out the words in an off-key voice -- ****s sake, don't sing along at a Low gig!) The new bass player Matt did a great job, also contributing some backing vocals which I was surprised to see, and they had a violin player at the back of the stage augmenting the band for about half the set. Amazing Grace, Last Snowstorm of the Year and Two Step were great choices for encores too. I thought they might be in a bad mood or something when there was no inter-song interaction for the first 6 or 7 songs but Alan finally thawed over, telling us that they'd been followed around Europe by election fever (having just been in France at the time of the presidential election, and now here) and rioting (in France, after the presidential results, and Holland, after a football match). They seemed genuinely grateful to be cheered back on for encores twice.. really glad I got to see them, and if I get the chance again I'll definately be going.


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    #10
    urbpol
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭urbpol


    our writer seemed to like the album a bit

    http://urbanpollution.com/music/low/works/drums_and_guns/

    xoxo

    -UP


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