Review: Low - Drums And Guns

Low - Drums And Guns
Low's latest album (March 20, 2007), the war-themed "Drums And Guns", produced mixed reactions in me. It is appropriately released by Sub Pop instead of Kranky; I think this one fits in less with Low's other Kranky released albums and Kranky releases in general. It's definitely one of those that takes a couple of listens to really grow on you, and I wouldn't say that it's Low's strongest album to date. That said, it is not a bad album and several tracks are really good.

"Drums And Guns" features thirteen tracks, coproduced with Dave Fridmann. The sound immediately struck me as different from what I'm used to hearing from Low. There is something stripped down about the instrumentation, and the vocals are way in the fore-front with an almost startling clarity. The lyrics are mostly great, dealing with different aspects of war and violence, and while there were a couple of weak spots, Low's songwriting skills do shine on this one. There is even a touch of... anger, bitterness maybe? to be heard on a few tracks... I was suprised to find myself reminded of John Frusciante's wavering falsetto at times. At other times the music was making me think Bonnie 'Prince' Billy with Tortoise... There are also some really great atmospheric moments, so subtle and gentle, but they really MAKE the album for me.

Then there is the rhythm section... understated, sparse, and a little experimental, featuring drum machines and hand claps. This helps add to the stripped feeling and lets the vocals shine. An interesting thing to do on an album with "Drums" in the title, but effective. In keeping with the title, the booklet of the digipak features a series of photographs by Jimi Sides of just that: drums and guns. A painting by Bridget Riversmith also appears just inside the cover.

Some tracks that really stand out and are definitely worth hearing: Belarus, Breaker, Dust On the Window, Violent Past. Most of the others, to me at least, just aren't that important. "Drums And Guns" is a different sort of Low album, maybe marking a new direction, or just demonstrating a bit of a desire to experiment... I hope it's the latter, but at least it's interesting no matter what Low does in the future.