Low / C’Mon

Low
C'Mon
(Sub Pop)
* * * *

Minnesota's Low have been around for bloomin' ages now, having first developed their 'slowcore' sound back in the grungey days of 1993. To their credit however, they still sound as fresh and sparkling as freshly laid snow: their ninth album 'C'Mon' was recorded in a deserted former church, and as such there's a naturally crisp reverb to these magically Wintery songs.

Melodically the band lie somewhere between your Mammas, your Pappas, your Simons and your Garfunkals, with songs like 'You See Everything' jingling along with a commanding sense of wide-eyed wonder.

There are two voices at work in the band; Mimi Parker delivers a warm sense of fragility and psychedelic soul, while the more craftily charactered Alan Spearhawk is a whiskey-ravaged croaker, grumpy and (almost) endearing on songs such as 'Especially Me'.

The record becomes increasingly introspective as it enters its final phase, offering the regretful reflections of 'Nightingale' and the death-like serenity of 'Majesty Magic' before signing off on a musically upbeat (if lyrically sinister) note.

With hope and pessimism constantly doing battle, it's tempting to speculate that the record's church setting encouraged a few conversations with angels and devils - it's far more likely however that after 18 years together, Low are simply masters of their craft.