1) Low is a German indu… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least seven artists with this name:
1) Low is a German industrial punk rock band from Berlin.
2) Low is a Danish rapper.
3) Low is a Spanish hip hop artist.
4) low is a doujin artist.
5) Low is an American indie rock/slowcore band from Duluth.
6) Low (White Leaves) is a Japanese artist.
7) Low is a member of CLOSER.
1) Low is a German industrial punk rock band from Berlin.
2) Low is a Danish rapper.
3) Low is a Spanish hip hop artist.
4) low is a doujin artist.
5) Low is a slowcore band formed in Duluth, Minnesota, United States in 1993, by Alan Sparhawk (guitar and vocals), Mimi Parker (drums and vocals) and original bassist John Nichols (bass guitar). Zak Sally replaced Nichols after Low's first album and tour. In 2005, Sally quit the band; Matt Livingston replaced him shortly thereafter. In 2008 Steve Garrington took over on bass creating the current lineup of Sparhawk, Parker and Garrington.
Their music is commonly described as "slowcore," a subgenre characterised by slow tempos and minimalist arrangements. They are one of the earlier bands to adopt and popularize the style, making them considerable contributors to the slowcore movement. (It is worth noting that the band dislikes this label. In an interview Alan Sparhawk says of descriptions of their music: "What's the cheesiest? Slow-core. I hate that word. The most appropriate is anything that uses the word minimal in it, but I don't think anybody's made one up for that") Parker and Sparhawk's striking vocal harmonies represent perhaps the group's most distinctive element.
History
The band formed in the spring of 1993. Sparhawk had been playing in the Duluth, Minnesota, band Zen Identity. That band needed a new bassist, and Nichols was recruited. At that time, Nichols was a senior at Superior Senior High School in nearby Superior, Wisconsin, and bassist in the band Lorenzo's Tractor. Sparhawk was called upon to teach Zen Identity songs to Nichols. During practices, the two started improvising with some very modest, quiet themes. As a joke, they wondered what would happen if they played such quiet music in front of Duluth crowds, which at that point focused around the loud, grunge, "post-punk" sound. Soon, the joke became a serious thought. Sparhawk disbanded Zen Identity, and he and Nichols recruited Sparhawk's wife Mimi Parker to play a very modest drum kit composed of a single cymbal and a single floor tom. She used brushes almost exclusively.
Low's debut album, I Could Live in Hope, was released on Virgin Records' Vernon Yard imprint in 1994. It featured Nichols on bass, though he was replaced by Sally, who joined for the recording of the band's next album Long Division. Long Division and its similar follow-up, 1996's The Curtain Hits the Cast, established the band as critical darlings; extensive touring helped them to develop a highly devoted fan base. "Over the Ocean," a single drawn from The Curtain Hits the Cast, also became something of a hit on college radio.
Low experienced considerable difficulties during their tenure with Vernon Yard, and by the time of their next full-length (1999's Secret Name) they had moved to the influential independent label Kranky. In between, they released several singles and EPs. In 1999, Low joined forces with Dirty Three to record an In The Fishtank session for Konkurrent records. All Music Guide called the six-song disc "some of the best material either unit has produced." Of particular note is the disc's lengthy cover of Neil Young's "Down by the River." 2001 saw the release of Things We Lost in the Fire.
The following year saw the release of the band's final full-length on Kranky, Trust. All three of the band's full-length releases on Kranky featured superstar producers: Secret Name and Things We Lost in the Fire feature the work of "recordist" Steve Albini (best known for producing abrasive noise rock and punk groups), who proved surprisingly sympathetic to capturing the band's strengths; while Trust was recorded with Duluth engineer Eric Swanson and mixed by Tchad Blake.
In April 2003, Peter S. Scholtes of the Twin Cities weekly paper City Pages posted in his weblog that Sally had left Low. The following month, the band posted an update to the news on their website: "We have all had to work through some personal things recently ... After sorting it out, the good news is that Zak is remaining in the band ..." In July 2003, they toured Europe with Radiohead, Sally in tow. Following a successful tour in early 2004 that vividly demonstrated the band's commitment to their fans (Parker was visibly pregnant throughout), the band signaled their intent to continue making music by signing with powerhouse indie label Sub Pop. To fulfill their contract with Kranky, Low released a three-disc rarities compilation on that label in 2004.
Beginning with Secret Name, the band have diversified their sound. The band use subtle electronic music touches to augment their sound, reflective of their tenure with Kranky and their exposure to the Midwest's post-rock scene. Adding a more overt rock element to their aesthetic, the band has used fuzz bass from Things We Lost on the Fire onward, and began using distorted lead guitar on Trust. The band's latest album, The Great Destroyer, nods even further in the direction of rock. Recorded with producer Dave Fridmann and released by Sub Pop in January 2005, The Great Destroyer has received mostly positive reviews; the Village Voice described the record's "comparatively thunderous verve." One notable exception to the critical applause is Pitchfork Media, which rated the album 5.5 out of 10 and panned its lead single "California."
Low cancelled the second leg of their extensive tour in support of The Great Destroyer in late spring of 2005. Sparhawk's informal statement, published on the band's web forum and addressed directly to fans, detailed the personal reasons behind the cancellation. In August 2005, however, Sparhawk announced his return to performance, embarking on a United States tour with fellow slowcore pioneer, former Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek. However, in October 2005, Sally announced his resignation. Replacing him is Matt Livingston, a longtime bassist and saxophonist in Duluth's musical scene.
Performance
Low are known for their impressive live performances. Rock club audiences typically watch the band while seated on the floor (due to the difficulty of standing for long periods while listening to such slow and quiet music). During their early career, the band often faced unsympathetic and inattentive audiences in bars and clubs, to which they responded by bucking rock protocol and turning their volume down.
Their shows often feature drastically reinterpreted cover versions of famous songs by the likes of Joy Division and The Smiths, in addition to their own original material. Live, Low shows a sense of humor not necessarily found on their recordings; a tour in early 2004 featured a cover of OutKast's hit song "Hey Ya." At a gig in Los Angeles on Halloween 1998, the band took the stage as a Misfits tribute act, complete with corpse paint and black clothing.
Commercial success
The band's mainstream exposure has been limited: their best-known song is arguably a hymnal version of "The Little Drummer Boy," which was featured in a Gap television ad that depicted a snowball fight in slow-motion to match the song's glacial tempo. A remix of their "Halflight" was featured in the Mothman Prophecies motion picture.
However, because of their minimal overhead expenses (the band makes very little use of professional recording facilities), Low have managed to develop a reasonably comfortable career.
Personal lives
Sparhawk and Parker are married, have two children, and are practicing members of the Mormon faith. (Sparhawk was born into an LDS family in Seattle, and for some time lived in Utah before moving to Minnesota at age nine; he also briefly attended Brigham Young University. Parker is a convert.)
Lyrical references: Christianity and Mormonism
Low are hardly a Christian rock group, however, at least in the usual sense: neither Sally's religious affiliation (or lack thereof) nor Parker and Sparhawk's faith is mentioned in their latest press kit. Low have often toured with other "Christian, not Christian rock" acts such as Pedro the Lion and the Danielson Famile.
However, there are occasional lyrical references (usually subtle and/or indirect) to Parker and Sparhawk's religion. Sometimes these references are traditional Christian themes. The song "If You Were Born Today," on both the live album One More Reason to Forget and on the Christmas album, quietly suggests what might happen if Jesus were born in contemporary times. On Things We Lost in the Fire, the song "Whore" includes Parker's haunting chorus "you will get your reward", while Sparhawk asks "is it so wrong to think there's more?" Disc one of A Lifetime of Temporary Relief includes the song "David & Jude," while disc two includes two versions of "Joan of Arc" and the Spacemen 3 cover "Lord, Can You Hear Me?" Many references draw specifically on themes from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These include "Weight of Water" and "Missouri" on Secret Name, whose title itself refers to an LDS naming ritual; this album also contains the song "Lion/Lamb." The Trust track "The Lamb," at least partially concerns the death of Joseph Smith.
The Christmas album's religious content is generally more direct, including in addition to "If you were born today" an original song about the Three Wise Men's subversion of Herod to protect Jesus ("Long way around the sea"), as well as traditionals ("Silent night," "Little drummer boy," the Elvis song "Blue Christmas") and original secular, seasonal songs ("Just Like Christmas," "Taking down the tree," "One special gift,").
Lyrical references: Duluth, Minnesota, and elsewhere
Low lyrics also subtly and indirectly reference geography. Very often, these geographic references center on their home in Duluth, Minnesota. Sparhawk has said that the song "Sea," from I Could Live in Hope, is about Duluth. The lyrics say, "The sea is a long, long way / from me . . . I'd go there if I had the time / but lying here will do just fine." To any Duluthian, this inevitably summons up Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, at whose western tip Duluth rests. Lake Superior is not salt water, but it is a very, very large body of water, certainly as large as many bodies of water that are called "seas." In fact, Lake Superior is sometimes called "the Inland Sea." The EP Songs for a Dead Pilot, was reportedly dedicated to a pilot who crashed near Duluth in the late 1990s. On Things We Lost in the Fire, the song "Sunflower" may refer to a notorious murder up the North Shore of Lake Superior some time in the late 70s or early 80s. On Trust, cold Minnesota winters emerge in the lyrics, "when we were young / we wanted to die / but the sound of a drum / and the words of a child / brought different light / now no one can tell / the winter was nice... the ground was so hard / the nights were so long / but we suffered the dark / and we wrote all those songs / still i was a fool / i covered my ears / no i would not face the last snowstorm of the year." (These lyrics also of course indulge both Low's repeating, dark, self-destructive / murderous / suicidal theme as well as their theme about having children.)
Other lyrics have referred elsewhere. Secret Name includes the song "Missouri," which may refer to the LDS community's travels westward. Songs for a Dead Pilot's last track is "Hey Chicago," which says "Hey Chicago, I'm leaving." On Trust, the song "Canada," says "you can't take that stuff to Canada," which inescapably suggests advice to people attempting to take drugs across the border from the U.S. to Canada. (As Minnesota sits along the border of Ontario and Manitoba, this can also be seen as a reference to Minnesota.) Songs on The Great Destroyer frequently reference geography. "California," says "Though it breaks your heart / We had to sell the farm / Back to California where it's warm." This possibly refers to Sparhawk's own mother selling the family farm upon which Sparhawk had grown up (compare the lyrics for "Mom says" on The Curtain Hits the Cast: "mom says / a farm's the best place to call home / but I don't know.") "Broadway (so many people)" refers very specifically to the intersection of Broadway and East 4th Street in New York City: "Last night just north of Houston / Broadway so many people / Through your third story window / I see my favorite record store [most likely Other Music on 4th, a noted independent record store]. At a February 2004 show at "Dante's" in Portland, Ore., Sparhawk told the crowd that the song "Walk into the Sea" was about "a guy who used to live here that we got know pretty well. He's gone now..." in what many fans believe was a reference to Academy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, a long-time Portland resident. Smith had died just months earlier in October 2003. On the Murderer EP is the song, "From Your Place on Sunset," which refers to many locations in the Los Angeles area.
Side projects
Low owns a record label, Chairkickers' Union, which releases material by other musicians such as Rivulets and Haley Bonar, as well as some of their own material. Sparhawk is notably active in Duluth's small but vibrant independent music scene; he operates a recording studio in the town, in a deconsecrated church that naturally provides the lush reverb characteristic of Low's sound. The Chairkickers label offers another outlet for Duluth musicians, as most groups on the label are from that city, or at least from Minnesota and surrounding areas.
Sally has toured as a bassist with Dirty Three, and Sparhawk has devoted considerable time and energy to his Black Eyed Snakes project, a blues-rock revival band quite far removed from the Low aesthetic. Recently Sparhawk has also been seen with a new side project called The Retribution Gospel Choir. Matt Livingston, who became Low's new bassist in late 2005, played in The Retribution Gospel Choir until early 2008 at which time Steve Garrington became the bassist for both this band and Low. On Retribution's first tour (fall 2005), they played the Low song "From Your Place on Sunset." (Similarly, Low and the Black-Eyed Snakes have played some overlapping songs, such as "Lordy".)
6) Low (White Leaves) is a Japanese artist.
7) Low is a member of CLOSER.
Back Home Again
Low Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The afternoon is heavy on your shoulders
There's a truck out on the four lane, a mile or more away
The whining of his wheels just makes it colder
He's an hour away from riding on your prayers up in the sky
And ten days on the road are barely gone
There's a fire softly burning, supper's on the stove
Hey, it's good to be back home again
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend
Yes and hey, it's good to be back home again
There's all the news to tell him, how's you spend your time
And what's the latest thing the neighbors say?
And your mother called last Friday, sunshine made her cry
And you felt the baby move just yesterday
Hey, it's good to be back home again
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend
Yes and hey, it's good to be back home again
Oh, the time that I can lay this tired old body down
And feel your fingers feather soft upon me
The kisses that I live for, the love that lights my way
The happiness that living with you brings me
It's the sweetest thing I know of, just spending time with you
It's the little things that make a house a home
Like a fire softly burning and supper on the stove
The light in your eyes that makes me warm
Hey, it's good to be back home again
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend
Yes and hey, it's good to be back home again
Hey, it's good to be back home again
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend
Yes and hey, it's good to be back home again
I said hey, it's good to be back home again
In "Back Home Again" by Low, the singer sings about the joy of returning home to their loved ones after a long trip away. The song begins with a description of an approaching storm and the sound of a distant truck, creating a sense of isolation and longing. However, the warmth of the homecoming quickly sets in as the singer describes the simple pleasures of being reunited with family and friends: a fire burning, supper on the stove, and the love in their partner's eyes.
As the song progresses, the singer catches up on all the news they've missed and revels in the sweet moments spent with their loved ones, from feeling their partner's gentle touch to experiencing the excitement of the mother-to-be feeling the baby kick. Ultimately, the message of the song is that home is where the heart is, and the happiness that comes from being with the ones you love is truly the sweetest thing of all.
Overall, "Back Home Again" is a beautiful ode to the comfort and joy that can be found in returning home to those we cherish.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a storm across the valley, clouds are rolling in
The ominous weather foreshadows the unease he feels about being away from home.
The afternoon is heavy on your shoulders
The weight of his worry is compounded by the oppressive heat of the day.
There's a truck out on the four lane, a mile or more away
The distance between him and the outside world is emphasized by the sound of a truck in the distance.
The whining of his wheels just makes it colder
The lonely, haunting sound of the truck serves to magnify the coldness of his surroundings.
He's an hour away from riding on your prayers up in the sky
He's putting his faith in a higher power to keep him safe on his journey back home.
And ten days on the road are barely gone
The contrast between his long absence and the short time since he left serves to underscore just how much he's missed home.
There's a fire softly burning, supper's on the stove
The warmth and comfort of home are captured in the image of a fire and a home-cooked meal.
But it's the light in your eyes that makes him warm
It's not just the physical warmth of the fire that makes him feel at home, it's the love and acceptance he feels from his loved ones.
Hey, it's good to be back home again
There's no place like home, and he's grateful to be back.
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend
The familiarity and comfort of his surroundings make him feel like he's rekindling an old friendship.
There's all the news to tell him, how's you spend your time
He's missed out on so much while he was away, and is eager to catch up on all the goings-on at home.
And what's the latest thing the neighbors say?
He's curious about the gossip and news from the community he's been away from for so long.
And your mother called last Friday, sunshine made her cry
The small joys of life are not lost on him, and he relishes the news that his mother was moved to tears by something as simple as sunshine.
And you felt the baby move just yesterday
He's particularly excited about the news of the new life growing inside his loved one.
Oh, the time that I can lay this tired old body down
He's exhausted from his long journey, but grateful for the chance to rest in the familiar surroundings of home.
And feel your fingers feather soft upon me
The simple touch of his loved one's hand brings him immense comfort and joy.
The kisses that I live for, the love that lights my way
The love he feels from his loved one is what has kept him going through his long absence.
The happiness that living with you brings me
Simply being in the presence of his loved one brings him immense joy and comfort.
It's the sweetest thing I know of, just spending time with you
Nothing is more precious to him than the time he gets to spend with his loved one.
It's the little things that make a house a home
It's not the physical structure of the house that makes it a home, it's the familiar and comforting routines and traditions that go on inside it.
Like a fire softly burning and supper on the stove
The simple comforts of life are what make his home so welcoming and comforting.
The light in your eyes that makes me warm
It's the love and acceptance he feels from his loved one that truly makes him feel at home.
I said hey, it's good to be back home again
Nothing compares to the feeling of being back in the comforting surroundings of home.
Contributed by Amelia M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kennethsooley9938
So pretty - I remember how this song ever so softly and gently blew my mind when I bought the tribute CD over 20 years ago…
@bennett6805
Hauntingly beautiful!!
@dwaxon
Dang, how did I not know this existed until now?!? Better late than never. Gorgeous.
@Ericozzz
such a gem
@Christofellis88
questa versione è semplicemente splendida.
@ingepalmieri2329
Sweet. We will never forget John.
@samwilkerson6868
I think John Denver would be proud. It wasn't always John's voice, but what he said. My daughter sent this link to me, I am so proud that she knows the music, and what I like.
@jasonpaslick2446
Its the best cover you could ask for
@jasonpaslick2446
As somoneone who LOVES john denver
@alesagrant1087
@Jason Paslick I loooooove John but just can't with this cover. I know I'm in the minority, tho.