Back in 2009, when The Fly asked me to cover a Low Anthem concert and submit my review to them electronically, I had never heard of the band, let alone the Internet. I went to the show ignorant of their discography and remained oblivious to the names of the instruments that they played, the gender of each band member, the language they were singing in and the entire point of the evening for days afterwards.
In the wake of the show, I was forced to undertake a crash IT competency course and consort with an array of muso bores, learning words as complicated and diverse as 'music', 'guitar' and 'crotale'. The term 'double bass', referring to an object that I had previously assumed was called 'Captain Slap-Slap', was revelatory in its simple beauty. I symbolically burned my by-this-point extensive collection of quills in a gesture lost on a vulgar fire rescue team and set to work amidst the blaze. Here is what I wrote. At the very least, I think it reads as though I knew what I was talking about, perhaps to its detriment. My reference to where the frontman is from seems especially forced and unnecessary. Excuse the formatting.
First piece for The Fly! Three stars! Original link at the bottom. What I can't paste in are the comments originally left under the article. They're lost forever, although one person did agree with me about the singer's “pissy” attitude.
The Low Anthem
Oran Mor, Glasgow
07/09/2009
***
At one point during his group’s Scottish debut show, frontman Ben Knox Miller laments The Low Anthem‘s formative years on the Rhode Island live circuit, during which they were forced to perform in a succession of “terrible, terrible sports bars”. From the pained tones with which the Providence native recounts these experiences, it is clear that whatever footing the band has gained on the international Americana stage has been hard-won. Not that one could tell from Miller’s fanfare-killing entrance, ignoring an expectant crowd so that he might instead turn his attention towards the venue’s lavish lighting arrangement, presumably too slick for his liking – “These red lights… can we kill those?”
From their ensuing performance, it is clear that The Low Anthem‘s immediate response to having unexpectedly built up a sizeable following is to simply act oblivious of its existence. The trio may find themselves an unexpectedly fashionable proposition following the rise of Fleet Foxes, with whom a penchant for rustic Americana and choral harmonies is shared. However, comparisons between them and their Bella Union labelmates are rendered redundant in the live setting as the band flits from extremes of pastoral contemplation to raucous noise, rarely courting compromise between the two.
‘To the Ghosts Who Write History Books’ proves a suitably captivating opener for a set consistently met with hushed reverence. ‘Charlie Darwin’, the near title track of the band’s sophomore album, meanwhile, epitomises shimmering, uncertain fragility, the multi-instrumentalists’ cracked harmonies tangling with layers of delicate feedback, coaxed from Jocie Adams’ crotales. Following an aching rendition of ‘Ticket Taker’, a lyric which confirms Miller’s mastery of character-driven narrative, Jeff Prystowsky delivers an authentic double bass solo in the mould of classic jazz. The band soon segues into a stirring rendition of American standard ‘Old Dan Tucker’.
Five songs into their set, there is no doubt that The Low Anthem are equipped with enough expertise and sense of adventure to mine something truly unique from familiar subject matter. However, while the up-tempo numbers played serve to broaden the set’s stylistic remit, and are fully-realised in their own right, they tend to jar with their introspective neighbours. And while the band is to be commended for following their own instincts, one suspects that they may have to consciously decide on a means of reconciling the intimacy that apparently comes naturally to them with the expansive sound required by larger venues. After all, they’re a long way from those sports bars now.
Lewis Porteous
http://www.the-fly.co.uk/reviews/live/5868/Live-Review-The-Low-Anthem/
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