The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh
Multi-instrumentalist quartet The Low Anthem create a haunting ambience for their musical tales of barren and rustic Americana where the setting itself -- the physical presence of how the notes actually hang in space -- becomes a primary factor in the listening experience. Creating a mood of grim austerity while simultaneous laying down some of the most beautiful and memorable songs brought the Rhode Island band near rapturous review for their 2008 breakout Oh My God Charlie Darwin, an album that straddled both traditional and modern folk, blues and even jazz and neo-classical elements. The NY Times aptly referred to The Low Anthem music as "inhabiting its own otherworldly place".
For their upcoming self-produced album Smart Flesh (February 22, Nonesuch), Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowsky, Jocie Adams, and newest member Mat Davidson holed up in a 40,000 square foot deserted pasta factory last winter with their portable recording equipment. "The space was really the main instrument for the whole record," says Miller. "The resonance was chilling." Lead track from Smart Flesh -- George Carter's "Ghost Woman Blues" -- captures the starkly reverbed atmosphere perfectly, an acerbic hymn that shuffles like a Crescent City dirge played on an Appalachian dusty road. Get a free download of "Ghost Woman Blues" at The Low Anthem site.
The Low Anthem - "Ghost Woman Blues" (from the album Smart Flesh)
The Low Anthem - "Apothecary Love" (Live from KCRW)
The Low Anthem - "Maybe So" (Live from KCRW)
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