Sounds Of Sota #2: "Plays Nice Places" by Low

"All you guys out there gonna wish you were Al Green..."

Hello again, music fans! Welcome to Sounds Of Sota #2!

For those who are unfamiliar with Sounds Of Sota, it's a running column in which we ask one of our contributors to review new albums & EP's from Minnesota artists. In sticking with our desire to rank and rate everything the albums are given a score of 1-10 at the end of the column.

This time around we asked TCDroogsma to give us his thoughts on Minnesota institution Low's new live EP “Plays Nice Places.”

TCDroogsma, thoughts?

When I first heard about Plays Nice Places I was intrigued for two reasons.

First, for nearly 20 years Low has perfected the art of getting just as much out of silence as they have out of sound. I was curious to see how that would translate to a live album. Would the crowd appreciate the silence with reverence or would the constant hum of a live album threaten the balance upon which the songs are built?

Second (and more personally), I've seen Low twice. The first time was an absolutely transcendent performance opening for Wilco on the banks of Lake Superior. Despite the presence of rain and temps that couldn't have been above 60, that show made me a Low fan for life. The second time I saw them was at the Mainroom as part of a packed bill for a Radio K benefit. Honestly, I could barely keep my eyes open during the set.

Now, what I've come to realize about both of those shows is that the band's performance likely wasn't dramatically different and that my experience at each one was driven almost entirely by surroundings and circumstance. With that in mind, Plays Nice Places had the potential to settle (at least in my mind) just what kind of live entity Low really is.

What we get with Plays Nice Places is a band at the peak of their powers, for better or worse.

Opening with the classic “Words,” Plays Nice Places starts on its highest note. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I've built something of a cottage industry in our Songs Of The Week column by taking shots at Ben Gibbard. Here, however, his voice provides a warmth that is almost non-existent in Alan Sparhawk & Mimi Parker's song-to-song existence. Despite the presence of some insufferable giggling, Gibbard's cameo gives the album some sorely needed color. It's just a shame that, as the opener, you don't realize just what a treat his presence turns out to be.

The rest of Plays Nice Places is certainly enjoyable (if risk-averse). While it's hard to believe that a band with the longevity of Low could be distilled to six songs, they manage to pull it off by pulling the 6 songs from 5 albums ("Waiting" stands as the only new track on the EP). Sadly, the songs, while very good in their own right, are rarely the highlight's from their parent albums. This EP is just dying for an elongated, fuzzed-out version of “Broadway” or perhaps a more fragile take on something like “Dust On The Window.”

Still, a sheen of professionalism hangs over the proceedings. With the exception of a joke introducing Gibbard and a brief introduction to “Murderer,” we're given precious little personality from the band. Whether it's the aforementioned reverence or editing, there is almost no existence of crowd noise during the songs. The band's harmonies are more calculated than inviting, and Sparhawk's singing stays between the lines so consistently that it's jarring to hear him channel a bit of Westerberg for a sneer at the end of “Witches.”

Depending on your expectations of Plays Nice Places, it's either an enjoyable (if somewhat disposable) portrait of a band (if you're one of the converted) or “...another Low record, eh?” (if you're not). Frankly, with 19 years in the bank, most people have formed an opinion of Low already.

Still, it would be foolish to complain about a free, live EP. As an unabashed fan of the band, I'm certainly thankful that this document exists. To the uninitiated, it's unlikely to be the skeleton key to fandom (The Great Destroyer is still their most important album from that perspective), but in an indie-rock world that currently celebrates a genre-hopping, bigger is better, more is not enough attitude, it's good to remember that Low, whether live or on record, commands a niche that belongs only to them.

Final Score: 7/10

There you have it, everybody. The new Low EP reviewed by a Low fan. As mentioned, “Plays New Places” is free. Click here to visit Low's page to download the album for yourself (right-hand side of the page).

For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He also maintains a personal blog Flatbasset and hosts Newest Industry's weekly Flatbasset podcast. And no, he's never adequately explained to us what “Flatbasset” means.

Newest Industry also has a home on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) which you can follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it may seem, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a valuable way to support the blog. And it's free. Stop by, eh?

Sounds Of Sota #1: "This Came First" by Wiping Out Thousands

"Could you invite me to your underground?" 

Well hello again, Minnesota music fans!

Welcome to the inaugural installment of our "Sounds Of Sota" series.  If you haven't put the pieces together yet, this will be a place where we ask one of our regular contributors to give us their thoughts on local albums.  Think of it as a compliment to our "Singles Mixer" posts.

As this is a new piece, we thought it would be appropriate to start it off with a new contributor.  Ladies and gentlemen, one hand clapping against the other makes a very fine sound for Dr. Bill Rubin!

Now, for those of you who don't know Dr. Bill, he's a longtime friend and reader of the blog.  He is also an encyclopedia when it comes to indie music.  Since a large portion of the albums we review in this space are bound to be indie rock & hip-hop albums, we thought it would be important to make sure the man with the most knowledge on the subject had his voice heard.

A few weeks ago (SOTW #11) MinneSarah & TCDroogsma gave us their thoughts on the song "Beach" by local group Wiping Out Thousands.  Well, the band has since released This Came First, the parent album to that single, as a pay-what-you-want download on their Bandcamp page.  We put Dr. Bill on the case to find out just what the story is with this album.

(Scoring Note: Our individual track reviews run on a scale from 0-5.  For entire albums we've bumped the system up to 0-10.)

Before we get to the review, have a look at this clip to get a good listen to Wiping Out Thousands.

 

Alright, click on the embedded player below to hear Dr. Bill's thoughts on the album.

Final Score - 3.6/10

There you have it!  Dr. Bill... not too thrilled with the new Wiping Out Thousands album.

Again, This Came First is available as a pay-what-you-want download at Wiping Out Thousands' Bandcamp page.

For more of Dr. Bill, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@DrBillRubin).  He earned his PhD in indie rock studying under Professor Robert Pollard.  He knows what he's talking about.

Of course this blog also has a Twitter page (@NewestIndustry1) that you can follow to stay up on all the work being done by our contributors.  We also have a Facebook page here.  Stop by and give us a pay-what-you-want 'like' if you have the time.