Low, Secret Name [Kranky]
Rating: 7.6
After Low's last effort, a home- recorded, experimental EP called Songs
for a Dead Pilot, it was hard to know what to expect from the new record.
Would it be a retreat to their trademark, polished studio slow-core? Would
it be noisier and even more edgy than the EP? Honestly, no one had any idea.
Then, it came. January 1999: a small package from Kranky Records. A surprise.
I hadn't been expecting a new Low record, but there it was-- shiny and new
before my eyes. I threw it in the car disc player on the way to get my
wisdom teeth pulled. It calmed me. Secret Name shows the band
approaching new territory, while keeping their old sound intact. The
catchy melodies are still here, as evidenced by tracks like the hummable,
cushiony soft "Starfire" and the mournful "Missouri." But there are also
changes in production technique. They've given the record a slightly more
homegrown feel, cutting down dramatically on their ultra- reverb shoegazing
tendencies.
So, if you're going into this expecting something along the lines of Long
Division and The Curtain Hits the Cast, you might be a bit thrown
off by Secret Name. And then you might not be. Because as many
changes as Low have made for this record, they're still the same, trustworthy,
lovely Low, making sweet, sweet harmonies to lull you to sleep and haunt your
dreams.
-Ryan Schreiber
|
