Low-"The Invisible Way"
 

As it has been already posted to this board by Bytor Peltor and _tunic, Low will be releasing their new full-length album, titled "The Invisible Way", via Sub Pop, on March 19th, 2013. Tickets for live dates in Europe are on sale now, and they have provided a free digital EP as well, "Low-Plays Nice Places" (320 kbps .MP3s), documenting their more recent tour as openers of (ugh) Death Cab for Cutie, including among others, a new song which will end up in the new album: "Waiting".



Some words about "The Invisible Way", by Alan Sparhawk:

“While driving through Chicago, on tour, we stopped finally to visit Wilco at their studio, The Loft. They had invited us to come check it out several times over the years, but this would finally be the day. It’s a great place—a sea of instruments in a relaxed, open working environment. It’s cool, but what really converted us was hearing the new Mavis Staples tracks they were working on: big, simple, raw, and intimate. Plans were made then and there.

’Don’t break my Grammy streak.’
We have worked with many of the great engineer/producers. Jeff Tweedy has been on our side of the microphone for over 25 years, however with engineer (and fellow Grammy winner) Tom Schick, he has of late become a formidable and eclectic producer. He spoke a language we understood, but then took us effortlessly into the mystery.

We’ve made many records, and you know our M.O.: slow, quiet, sometimes melancholy, and, we hope, sometimes pretty…

How is this different from any other Low record?
- Mimi sings lead on five of the eleven songs (she usually only does one or two, despite being a fan favorite).
- Piano, lots of piano… and an acoustic guitar.
- Songs about intimacy, the drug war, the class war, plain old war war, archaeology, and love.

Thank you for your time again and please enjoy what we made. I think it’s beautiful."

—Alan Sparhawk from Low








"Low-Plays Nice Places" can be downloaded from here:
http://www.subpop.com/artists/low

Low have dragged me back to facemook, to check out the pics they have been constantly posting of how things have been going in the studio:
https://www.facebook.com/lowmusic

More info here:
http://chairkickers.com/2013-european-tour/

Yes! Same here. I've always loved Mimi's songs and have had similar yearnings. It seems such prospects or wishes won't ever materialize, so this is awesome news. Many of her songs are very simple, but they are so powerful somehow ("Weight Of Water", "Blue Christmas", and "In Metal" for instance, just really crush me).

Judging by posts on some other places, some Low fans are kind of wary of the band's choice of Jeff Tweedy as producer, but knowing his recent work with Mavis Staples, which I appreciate a great deal (also keep in mind that Alan Sparhawk is a massive Mavis Staples fan), I can see how this might be fitting and can sort of understand Low taking this decision in light of their hypothetical approach to "The Invisible Way". I am expecting greatness from this album.

Sub Pop have posted an awfully short trailer for "The Invisible Way" to youtube, by the way:
http://youtu.be/2swv0SQI_C4

Genuinely excited. I am quite out of the loop these days, and did not know about this until yesterday.

I miss the days when you were in the loop, Severian. Your every word meant a trip to the record shop the next day.

Low have some longevity now (they started in 1993), and I think they have proved their decisions have worked very well in regards to that aspect, so being wary of Jeff Tweedy working with them now, to me just seems pointless. I wouldn't waste any energies on that.

Speaking of Low, I was Just listening to Christmas the other day for the first time in quite a while, and that album genuinely kicks ass. Their little drummer boy puts the Lips version to absolute shame.

Kickstarter project to fund the recording of Snöbarn's debut album (Snöbarn is an electrified folk band from Duluth, MN., consisting of Gaelynn Lea [of The Murder Of Crows], Ariane Marene Norrgard, Chad Erlemeier, Bryan Johnson, and Eric Bong):

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-make-an-album

The album is being recorded at Sacred Heart Music Studios, by Alan Sparhawk and Eric Swanson.

Snöbarn's official website:
http://snobarn.weebly.com/

Retribution Gospel Choir's latest newsletter:

New Album "3" and New Tour Dates


Q: How do you follow-up a four-song 7”?

A: With a two-song full-length.

One song per side, this radio-format-challenged record will come out January 22, 2013 on Chaperone Records. Side A “Can’t Walk Out” is the crown jewel of recent RGC live shows with it’s repetitive, building, almost free, freakout - so far, probably the most accurate recording of what the band brings to the stage. Side B “Seven” sees the more sprawling side of the band - haunting, epic, and enhanced throughout by guest guitarist Nels Cline. These songs were tracked live, playing together in the same room, one take each.

A friend of mine used to play Frank Zappa’s “Uncle Meat” at 16 rpm all the time. How do you recover from that?
You don’t.

stay warm - Alan Sparhawk


Retribution Gospel Choir will be on the road in February in support of this new release. Information regarding all tour dates is available here.

December 20 - Turf Club - St. Paul, MN - Buy Tickets
February 9 - Schuba's Tavern - Chicago, IL - Buy Tickets
*February 12 - Knitting Factory - Brooklyn, NY - Buy Tickets
February 13 - BAR - New Haven, CT - Free Show
February 14 - DC9 - Washington, DC - Buy Tickets
February 15 - Beachland Tavern - Cleveland, OH - Buy Tickets
February 16 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI - Buy Tickets

*co-bill with Nels Cline's BB&C, Nightlands (War on Drugs' Dave Hartley) opens.
© Retribution Gospel Choir

Track-list for Low's "The Invisible Way", judging by the leaked copy which has started to circulate (way to fuck it up once again, Sub Pop):

*Plastic Cup
*Amethyst
*So Blue
*Holy Ghost
*Waiting
*Clarence White
*Four Score
*Just Make It Stop
*Mother
*On My Own
*To Our Knees

Retribution Gospel Choir's new record, "3", will be released on January 22, through Chaperone Records, according to official word by the band on twitter. A couple live dates have been announced, and a track from the album, "Seven" (featuring Nels Cline), can be streamed via Soundcloud:
http://retributiongospelchoir.com/

Low's latest newsletter:



Dear Friends,

Happy New Year.

We're excited to share with you two tracks off the forthcoming The Invisible Way coming on March 19th in the US and March 18th ex-US on Sub Pop Records:
"Just Make It Stop" can be streamed and downloaded on www.chairkickers.comwhere you'll also find the full track listing and album art.
"Plastic Cup" can be streamed on NPR Music.

We also have our first North American dates for 2013 to announce:
Fri Jan 18 - The College of St. Scholastica - Duluth, MN - Buy Tickets
Sat Mar 16 - The Great Hall - Toronto, ON - On Sale: 1/11 12:00 pm ET - Buy Tickets
Wed Mar 20 - Society for Ethical Culture - New York, NY* - On Sale: 1/11 10:00 am ET - Buy Tickets
Fri Mar 22- Metro - Chicago, IL+ - On Sale: 1/11 12:00 pm CT - Buy Tickets
Sat Mar 23- Fitzgerald Theatre - St. Paul, MNx- On Sale: 1/11 12:00 pm CT - Buy Tickets
Fri Mar 29 - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO - On Sale: 1/9 10:00 am MT - Buy Tickets
Sat Mar 30 - Velour - Provo, UT - On Sale: 1/9 10:00 am ET - Buy Tickets
Tue Apr 2- Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA - On Sale: 1/11 1:00 pm PT - Buy Tickets
Wed Apr 3 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA - On Sale: 1/13 10:00 am PT - Buy Tickets
Fri Apr 5 - Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR - On Sale: 1/9 7:00 am PT - Buy Tickets
Sat Apr 6- The Crocodile - Seattle, WA - On Sale: 1/9 10:00 am PT - Buy Tickets

*The Wordless Music Series, ACME String Quartet opens
+WXRT presents, Geoff Farina opens
xThe Current Presents An evening with Low, featuring members of Trampled by Turtles + an interview with Mark Wheat

This joins our previously announced European tour:
Wed Apr 24, 2013 - Glee Club - Birmingham, UK - Buy Tickets
Thurs Apr 25, 2013 - Central Methodist Hall - Manchester, UK - Buy Tickets
Fri Apr 26, 2013 - The Sage Gateshead - Gateshead, UK - Buy Tickets
Sat Apr 27, 2013 - Classic Grand - Glasgow, UK - Buy Tickets
Mon Apr 29, 2013 - Trinity - Bristol, UK - Buy Tickets
Tue Apr 30, 2013 - Barbican - London, UK - Buy Tickets
Thurs May 2, 2013 - Loppen - Copenhagen, DK - Buy Tickets
Fri May 3, 2013 - Debaser - Stockholm, SE - Buy Tickets
Sat May 4, 2013 - Bla - Oslo, NO - Buy Tickets
Tue May 7, 2013 - La Maroquinerie - Paris, FR - Buy Tickets
Wed May 8, 2013 - Botanique - Brussels, BE - Buy Tickets
Thurs May 9, 2013 - Paradiso De Duif - Amsterdam, NL - Buy Tickets
Fri May 10, 2013 - Zoom - Frankfurt, DE - Buy Tickets
Sat May 11, 2013 - Teatro Antoniano - Bologna, IT - Buy Tickets
Mon May 13, 2013 - Casino de la Alianca - Barcelona, ES - Buy Tickets
Tue May 14, 2013 - Teatro La Rambleta - Valencia, ES - Buy Tickets
Wed May 15, 2013 - Teatro de las Esquina - Zaragoza, ES - Buy Tickets
Thurs May 16, 2013 - Joy Eslara - Madrid, ES - Buy Tickets
Fri May 17, 2013 - Lava - Valladolid, ES - Buy Tickets
Sat May 18, 2013 - Atabal - Biarritz, FR - Buy Tickets

Help us spread the word about the new record by posting the new tracks to Facebook/Twitter. Speaking of Twitter, Alan is tweeting these days, you can follow him and Low at @lowtheband.

We'll check back soon about pre-order details.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Low HQ

 

Artwork by Ryan Lemahieu.

Low's bigcartel store. Nothing there at the moment, but I suppose that's gonna be the place to order the new album from:
http://lowtheband.bigcartel.com/

Hopefully some kind folks will be able to record those US dates, there's some very nice collaborations taking place there with Trampled By Turtles and the Acme String Quartet
They will not only open, but also join Low on stage. Here's a youtube clip of TBT, Alan joins in on the last two songs, one of the m is When I Go Deaf and a short interview before that.


The new RGC3 album can be ordered at http://chaperonerecords.com/artists/...-gospel-choir/ (click to the Shop). But the site isn't working well for people not linving in the USA. Hopefully that will be fixed soon.
Love that new track a lot. Reminds me of Lee's solo album. Can't wait to hear the other track.
Please don't hit me if I'm wrong, but I googled for latest news on RGC, and one of the results was this. Which might indicate that they will be visiting Mexico soon.

Oh yeah, Low's album has leaked already (Please don't post links, you should be albe to find it if you want it). It's very good, and very accoustic too

The posters for the Retribution Gospel Choir tour are pretty cool:


I hope there will be huge amounts of documentation of these tours by Low (and related projects) both in America and Europe, too. Judging by nyctaper's schedule, there's a huge possibility they will provide a Retribution Gospel Choir live recording when the band hits New York City soon.

I tried ordering the new album from Chaperone Records just a few minutes ago, but as you say, international orders can't be placed at the moment. I gave them a shout to ask if they can sort us out, and will be eagerly awaiting an answer. I loved the track they uploaded to Soundcloud, and yeah, it would be very special for me to see either Retribution Gospel Choir or Low playing live, but I'm just thinking after seeing your link, that ticketmaster is a cluttered mess. I would make a happy dance if someone who knows for sure would confirm, though. I would never dare to even try to hit you, either... Not many shows for me these days. I'll be seeing Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog next week (I bet it won't be sold out), and then Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds in February, and that's it.

Yeah, I realized "The Invisible Way" got leaked on Christmas, and I downloaded it but only dared to listen to a couple songs. Was already familiar with those they had been playing in recent shows, too, and then heard "Just Make It Stop", which Sub Pop posted to Soundcloud. Other than that, I decided I'll judge the record when I listen to it the way it should be done, which doesn't have anything to do with lossy files on computer's speakers. I really like what I've heard so far, that's for sure.

I want that poster! Chaperone does offer international shipping, got a reply to my mail:
All you need to do is select "international shipping" and enter your complete address in the "address" box.
For city/state, just enter anything. It matters not.

Ah, great! I fucked it when trying to order, but that won't happen again. Gonna have to wait a long week to order this, though. Just spent a lot of money on records (Bought a 5 CD boxset of Peter Brötzmann, "White Cable, Black Wires" by John Edwards & Okkyung Lee, and some other stuff)...

Thanks, _tunic_!

For some reason I thought this was available for order already. Anyway, looking forward to seeing Retribution Gospel Choir.

_tunic_, here's a pic of Steve with one of the posters:
https://twitter.com/retgospelchoir/s...245888/photo/1

LaserDream's video for Low's "Witches" (from the "Plays Nice Places" EP):
http://vimeo.com/57825381

Retribution Gospel Choir's "3" can be streamed on Chaperone Records' Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/chaperonerecords/sets/rgc

The album has been officially released today.

They only play in nice places...

Sorry for the bad joke. I do hope you get to see them soon. Options of them playing here (either Low or Retribution Gospel Choir) are non-existent, I consider that a fact.