The band's lineup has changed frequently during its career, with founding members Miller and Prystowsky being the only constants. Former members include Dan Lefkowitz (guitar) (2006–2007), Mat Davidson (bass) (2009–2011), Jocie Adams (vocals, organ, clairinet) (2007–2013), Mike Irwin (guitar, bass, trumpet) (2011–2013) and Tyler Osborne (guitar, bass). Adams, the longest serving member other than Miller and Prystowsky, amicably left the group in 2013 to focus on her other band Arc Iris.
Ben Knox Miller and Jeffrey Prystowsky met while DJing an overnight jazz show on a Brown University radio station, WBRU. They became friends and teammates for a local wood-bat baseball team called the Providence Grays. Miller and Prystowsky played in various ensembles together ranging from classical and jazz to electronica, and the Low Anthem was formed in 2006. In the fall of 2006, Dan Lefkowitz, a bluesman from Strasburg, Virginia, joined the band and contributed to its evolving brand of songwriting with his song “This God Damn House." Early in 2007, Lefkowitz left the band to pursue simple living in a yurt in Arkansas. The band became a trio again in late 2007 with the addition of classical composer and clarinetist Jocie Adams, a fellow student and former NASA employee, who joined the band after a late-night recording session for the band's album What The Crow Brings. She appears on vocals and clarinet on the album's closing track, "Coal Mountain Lullaby."
What the Crow Brings was recorded in Miller’s and Prystowsky’s apartments over several months and was then self-released on October 2, 2007. The band took on every aspect of manufacturing the album including dumpster diving for empty cereal boxes to fold into album sleeves to creating the silkscreens for the album art, to hand painting and serial-numbering 600 copies of the album.
The Low Anthem recorded and self-released its second album, Oh, My God, Charlie Darwin on September 2, 2008. The band traveled to Block Island in the middle of winter and spent ten days recording the tracks that would become the album, with engineer and co-producer Jesse Lauter. After the album was completed, the band returned to the island to handpaint and silkscreen the first 2000 copies of the album The band did a release tour booked by booking agent Jeff "The Scarecrow" Jones.
While touring, the Low Anthem first gained some recognition in the UK when Rough Trade Shops decided to make it an Album of the Month. End of the Road Festival then booked the band and released a 7” single of "Charlie Darwin" coinciding with the celebration of Darwin Day.
The band signed record deals with both Nonesuch Records and the UK label Bella Union and both rereleased Oh, My God, Charlie Darwin after Bob Ludwig re-mastered the disc. There was new artwork and the track order was resequenced.
In the summer of 2009, the band played US festivals Bonnaroo, Lollapalloza, the Newport Folk Festival, and Austin City Limits. In addition to headlining shows throughout Europe, The Low Anthem also played Glastonbury, Hyde Park Calling, Wireless, and End of the Road Festivals in the UK. Matt Davidson became a member of the band shortly before the band's Autumn 2009 tour.
In November, The Low Anthem released its debut music video for Charlie Darwin, a claymation work by Glenn Taunton and Simon Taffe. On November 20, 2009, The Low Anthem made its television debut on Later... with Jools Holland.
The beginning of 2010 saw the band's first US television appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, where it performed "Charlie Darwin", and a short tour in Europe, including its biggest headlining show at Shepherds Bush Empire. The band returned to the US to support The Avett Brothers and then completed its first headline tour of the USA.
From December 2009 until February 2010, the band recorded its fourth album, Smart Flesh, in the abandoned Porino’s pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, RI. The album was engineered by Jesse Lauter and mixed by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes. The album was released February 22, 2011. The band released "Ghost Woman Blues", the first song on the record as a free download in December on its Web site. The band appeared again on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 12, 2011, performing "Ghost Woman Blues."
In July 2011, Matt Davidson played his final show with The Low Anthem. He has been replaced by Mike Irwin. Multi-instrumentalist Tyler Osbourne joined the band in December 2011.
On December 20, 2011, the band released an album for free under the alter-ego Snake Wagon, entitled "Have Fun With Snake Wagon". The album was recorded during the same sessions as Smart Flesh. The band has also recorded a soundtrack album for the upcoming film "Arcadia" for release in 2012.
The Horizon Is A Beltway
The Low Anthem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The tops of buildings tremble like children lorn and lost
The stain runs deep it's deeper than the blood upon the cross.
The horizon is a beltway that we may never cross.
You'll hear that distant love song when the wind blows right
Hear the whistle blowing put a tear into your eye
You hear the distant love song but widows know the lie
The skyline is on fire, the skyline is on fire
The horizon is a beltway and the skyline is on fire
You come up from the lowlands to the city on the air
Where pilgrims and commissioners curate Christian fare
From Havisu to Brownsville feel the long unbroken stare
I wonder what it smells like in that city on the air
You'll hear that distant love song when the wind blows right
Just the same blue love song made my grand dad cry
You'll hear the whistle blowing put a tear drop in your eye
The horizon is a beltway, and the skyline is on fire.
The skyline is on fire, the skyline is on fire
You'll hear the distant love song, when the skyline is on fire
The skyline is on fire, the skyline is on fire
The horizon is a beltway and the skyline is on fire
This old house stood empty now for fifteen years or more
Willows falls half way to meet the weeds around the door
Time throws up her curtain and we know not who we are
The horizon is a beltway, the skyline is on fire
You'll hear that distant love song when the wind blows right
Hear the whistle blowing put a tear drop in your eye
Jagged as the jaw bone once the flesh expires
The horizon is a beltway the skyline is on fire
The Low Anthem's song "The Horizon Is A Beltway" is a powerful commentary on the tragedies and struggles of modern urban life. The song begins with the haunting image of the horizon as a beltway that is impossible to cross, indicating a sense of being stuck and trapped within the confines of the cityscape. The tops of buildings are described as trembling like lost children, implying a sense of abandonment and hopelessness. The "stain" that runs deeper than the blood upon the cross suggests that the problems of the city go beyond mere surface-level issues and are much more deeply ingrained.
The song goes on to describe a distant love song that can be heard when the winds blow just right, but this love song is tinged with pain and tragedy. The skyline is on fire, and the sense of desperation and chaos is palpable. The city is described as a place where pilgrims and commissioners curate Christian fare, which can be read as a critique of the hypocrisy and false piety that can be present in urban communities.
The final verse brings the song back to a personal level, describing an abandoned house where willows meet the weeds around the door. The sense of time passing and people being forgotten is palpable, and the song ends on the poignant image of the horizon as a beltway once more. Overall, "The Horizon Is A Beltway" is a poignant and compelling meditation on the struggles of urban life and the human condition.
Line by Line Meaning
The horizon is a beltway that we may never cross
The boundary that separates us from our dreams and aspirations may always be just out of reach
The tops of buildings tremble like children lorn and lost
The structures we build around ourselves offer no comfort or security, but instead reflect our own sense of abandonment and uncertainty
The stain runs deep it's deeper than the blood upon the cross.
The mark of our failures and shortcomings are ingrained in us more profoundly than any religious symbol can be
You'll hear that distant love song when the wind blows right
There are moments of fleeting beauty and hope that fill us with longing and remind us of what we desire most
Hear the whistle blowing put a tear into your eye
The passage of time and the inevitability of change can bring us to tears, as we mourn what has been lost and can never be regained
You hear the distant love song but widows know the lie
Even the most romanticized ideals of love and happiness are often a deception, particularly for those who have suffered great loss
The horizon is a beltway, the skyline is on fire.
The limiting factors that hold us back are also destroying the world around us, fueling a sense of hopelessness and despair
You come up from the lowlands to the city on the air
The promise of a better life draws people to cities, where they hope to escape poverty and deprivation
Where pilgrims and commissioners curate Christian fare
Even in the midst of progress and modernization, religion continues to hold a significant place in the lives of many, particularly those who feel lost or uncertain
From Havisu to Brownsville feel the long unbroken stare
The weight of expectation and scrutiny is unrelenting, no matter where you go or what you do
I wonder what it smells like in that city on the air
Even the most glamorous and alluring cities can still hold a sense of decay and desperation beneath the surface
This old house stood empty now for fifteen years or more
The passage of time has left homes and lives abandoned, with no one left to remember their stories or history
Willows falls half way to meet the weeds around the door
Nature reclaims what has been left behind, transforming it into something new and untamed
Time throws up her curtain and we know not who we are
The constant march of time can leave us uncertain of our place in the world and who we truly are
Jagged as the jaw bone once the flesh expires
In death, all the beauty and symmetry of the body fades, leaving only the painful realities of decline and decay
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BENJAMIN KNOX MILLER, JEFFREY CARL PRYSTOWSKY, JOCELYN JAGER ADAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
FYADAQ
what a happy feel good mood this song puts on the table
FYADAQ
what a happy feel good mood this song puts on the table... I bet its the alcohal
Obelisk1990
Nice nice nice!!! NICE!
amishmike1
Hippy Music.
dragonaut1810 druid
They're folkie beatniks from Rhode Island. New England. 13 colonies. They went to college. They work and earn, they're self motivated - creating and producing.
Hippies are dropouts. Haight-Ashbury. They drift and mooch, they're self absorbed - toking and screwing since 1969.