THE LOW ANTHEM
''SMART FLESH (BONUS TRACKS)''
FEBRUARY 21 2011
66:06
1 Ghost Woman Blues 04:14
2 Apothecary Love 04:19
3 Boeing 737 02:38
4 Love And Altar 03:06
5 Matter Of Time 03:50
6 Wire 03:41
7 Burn 05:14
8 Hey, All You Hippies! 04:40
9 I'll Take Out Your Ashes 03:26
10 Golden Cattle 03:00
11 Smart Flesh 07:22
12 Maybe So (Bonus Track) 04:36
13 Vines (Bonus Track) 04:06
14 Dreams Can Chase You Down (Bonus Track) 02:38
15 Roses In A Mist V1 (Bonus Track) 03:41
16 Old Cedar Tree (Bonus Track) 02:29
17 Roses In A Mist V2 (Bonus Track) 02:59
Ben Knox Miller
Jeff Prystowsky
Jocie Adams
Mat Davidson
Additional musicians
Ben Pilgrim - harmonium ("Smart Flesh")
Anton Patzner - violin ("Boeing 737")
Louis Patzner - cello ("Boeing 737")
Robert Houllahan - flickering film ("Boeing 737")
REVIEW
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
While scoping out locations for their third album, the Low Anthem stumbled across a vacant pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, RI. For a band whose instruments include WWII-era pump organs and other antique items, the factory -- with its label-strewn floors, big empty spaces, and semi-crumbling appearance -- must’ve felt like home. And it was home, at least for the three winter months in which the Low Anthem took up temporary residence inside the place, recording the bulk of their third album with Charlie Darwin producer Jesse Lauter. Smart Flesh, the result of the so-called “Pasta Sauce Factory Sessions” and an additional session in Providence, makes good use of the building, which often functions as a fifth member of the band. The songs are deliberately loose and minimalist -- intricacy tends to get lost in the booming, resonant halls of a factory -- but the substance that remains is strong, potent stuff. High-lonesome folk, bare-boned Americana, and old-timey harmony numbers are the name of the game, and although the band’s use of vintage instruments makes for some fun Wikipedia sleuthing (what are “crotales,” anyway?), the spotlight remains on the songs themselves. Frontman Ben Knox Miller sings with a troubadour’s voice, a combination of Bob Dylan and early James Taylor that lends a pleasantness to anything he sings, even when the lyrics revolve around death. He feels like the obvious leader here -- although everyone sings, he’s the only member to own the frontman role -- but Smart Flesh’s best songs are those that revolve around the band’s four-part harmonies, including the gorgeous “Love and Altar” (a close cousin to Oh My God, Charlie Darwin’s title track) and a cover of George Carter’s “Ghost Woman Blues.” the Low Anthem may be Ivy League grads, but Smart Flesh doesn’t feel like the work of overeducated Generation Y kids thumbing through their parents’ folk LPs -- it feels like the real thing.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
The Low Anthem's unique brand of Americana makes room for gospel, folk, and blues, a blend that began taking shape in their hometown of Providence, RI. Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky -- both students at Brown University, as well as late-night DJs at the school's radio station -- formed The Low Anthem in 2006, drawing upon their background as classical composers to help mold the group's eclectic music. Jocie Adams joined one year later, and the group began widening its arsenal of instruments accordingly, utilizing everything from World War I pump organs to crotales in the process. After making its independent debut with 2007's What the Crow Brings, the band rang in 2008 by temporarily relocating to Block Island -- a remote location 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast -- to record an album with producer Jesse Lauter. The stark, serene environment proved to be appropriate for the music, which the band initially self-released under the title Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.
As their buzz continued to build, The Low Anthem signed a contract with Nonesuch Recordings and reissued Oh My God in 2009, supporting the release with a string of performances at summer festivals. Multi-instrumentalist Mat Davidson was added to the lineup later that year, joining The Low Anthem's ranks one month before they headed to Central Falls, RI, to record a third album. Setting up a makeshift studio inside an abandoned pasta sauce factory, the group recorded Smart Flesh over a period of three months, making good use of the building's carvernous, resonant spaces. The album was released in February 2011.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
''SMART FLESH (BONUS TRACKS)''
FEBRUARY 21 2011
66:06
1 Ghost Woman Blues 04:14
2 Apothecary Love 04:19
3 Boeing 737 02:38
4 Love And Altar 03:06
5 Matter Of Time 03:50
6 Wire 03:41
7 Burn 05:14
8 Hey, All You Hippies! 04:40
9 I'll Take Out Your Ashes 03:26
10 Golden Cattle 03:00
11 Smart Flesh 07:22
12 Maybe So (Bonus Track) 04:36
13 Vines (Bonus Track) 04:06
14 Dreams Can Chase You Down (Bonus Track) 02:38
15 Roses In A Mist V1 (Bonus Track) 03:41
16 Old Cedar Tree (Bonus Track) 02:29
17 Roses In A Mist V2 (Bonus Track) 02:59
Ben Knox Miller
Jeff Prystowsky
Jocie Adams
Mat Davidson
Additional musicians
Ben Pilgrim - harmonium ("Smart Flesh")
Anton Patzner - violin ("Boeing 737")
Louis Patzner - cello ("Boeing 737")
Robert Houllahan - flickering film ("Boeing 737")
REVIEW
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
While scoping out locations for their third album, the Low Anthem stumbled across a vacant pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, RI. For a band whose instruments include WWII-era pump organs and other antique items, the factory -- with its label-strewn floors, big empty spaces, and semi-crumbling appearance -- must’ve felt like home. And it was home, at least for the three winter months in which the Low Anthem took up temporary residence inside the place, recording the bulk of their third album with Charlie Darwin producer Jesse Lauter. Smart Flesh, the result of the so-called “Pasta Sauce Factory Sessions” and an additional session in Providence, makes good use of the building, which often functions as a fifth member of the band. The songs are deliberately loose and minimalist -- intricacy tends to get lost in the booming, resonant halls of a factory -- but the substance that remains is strong, potent stuff. High-lonesome folk, bare-boned Americana, and old-timey harmony numbers are the name of the game, and although the band’s use of vintage instruments makes for some fun Wikipedia sleuthing (what are “crotales,” anyway?), the spotlight remains on the songs themselves. Frontman Ben Knox Miller sings with a troubadour’s voice, a combination of Bob Dylan and early James Taylor that lends a pleasantness to anything he sings, even when the lyrics revolve around death. He feels like the obvious leader here -- although everyone sings, he’s the only member to own the frontman role -- but Smart Flesh’s best songs are those that revolve around the band’s four-part harmonies, including the gorgeous “Love and Altar” (a close cousin to Oh My God, Charlie Darwin’s title track) and a cover of George Carter’s “Ghost Woman Blues.” the Low Anthem may be Ivy League grads, but Smart Flesh doesn’t feel like the work of overeducated Generation Y kids thumbing through their parents’ folk LPs -- it feels like the real thing.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
The Low Anthem's unique brand of Americana makes room for gospel, folk, and blues, a blend that began taking shape in their hometown of Providence, RI. Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky -- both students at Brown University, as well as late-night DJs at the school's radio station -- formed The Low Anthem in 2006, drawing upon their background as classical composers to help mold the group's eclectic music. Jocie Adams joined one year later, and the group began widening its arsenal of instruments accordingly, utilizing everything from World War I pump organs to crotales in the process. After making its independent debut with 2007's What the Crow Brings, the band rang in 2008 by temporarily relocating to Block Island -- a remote location 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast -- to record an album with producer Jesse Lauter. The stark, serene environment proved to be appropriate for the music, which the band initially self-released under the title Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.
As their buzz continued to build, The Low Anthem signed a contract with Nonesuch Recordings and reissued Oh My God in 2009, supporting the release with a string of performances at summer festivals. Multi-instrumentalist Mat Davidson was added to the lineup later that year, joining The Low Anthem's ranks one month before they headed to Central Falls, RI, to record a third album. Setting up a makeshift studio inside an abandoned pasta sauce factory, the group recorded Smart Flesh over a period of three months, making good use of the building's carvernous, resonant spaces. The album was released in February 2011.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
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