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Low | Trust

Duluth slow-core trio return with impressive 6th outing.
CD, Rough

Tekst: Wilko van Iperen

Publicatiedatum: 24 september 2002

The Duluth trio open their sixth album, Trust, with (That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace, a song with the oh-so-recognizable sound of Low: a minimal, eerie, slow, but harmonic rock song. Trust is the follow-up to last year's Things We Lost In The Fire, probably Low's most successful album up until then. The harmonies that Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker produce on Trust are, compared to its predecessor, less accessible. The new record is somewhat darker. In the background, Candy Girl contains haunting sounds that contribute to the uncomfortable feel all through the song. But Diamond is a clear and beautiful song that sounds so soothing. You'd wonder how it would sound without the instruments, as with the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. These harmonies are that nice.

It seems like a conscious choice of the band to rotate songs that possess the vulnerability of Simon and Garfunkel tunes with more slow-core-like compositions (although the band dislikes this label). There are more awkward space sounds in the background: I Am The Lamb feels like walking slowly, almost marching slowly, into a large, badly lit cathedral. The cavernous sound makes you think it was recorded right after Sunday Mass. After the scary feeling I Am The Sun leaves you with, Sparhawk and Parker bathe you again in lukewarm water. In The Drugs is probably the best drugs-will-do-this-to-you song since Richard Ashcroft's The Drugs Don't Work. The melody, again, is to die for. The grandeur brought by Little Argument With Myself completely takes you up, onto the next level. Sometimes songs are just songs, but Low seem to able to really touch a nerve. The only song on the album with a somewhat fuller, noisy guitar sound is the stand-out track Canada. It reminds one of the shoegazers of the early nineties. It's kind of a pity that it's the second song on the album, because it tends to overshadow the introductory song. All in all, it's unbelievable how Low can grab you by the throat but also sooth your pain.

Tchad Blake, the producer, really deserves special mention. Unlike most producers who tend to put together a tight sound, Blake leaves room for emptiness. Sometimes the sound approaches the church-like atmosphere, sometimes you really hear an instrument put in as an extra in the background. Blake manages to let the space effects and added haunting-drama sounds really fit the music, as Mark Nevers did on Lambchop's Is A Woman. Here, beauty is brought in a minimal way. It's good to see that their last album got more attention. Hopefully their following will only grow with Trust.