Low mesmerise the Barbican crowd with new material.
Low stand alone. To my mind they are incomparable. The three-piece from Duluth, Minnesota have been making their soft, powerful music for nearly 20 years. There is something indefinable to love in the music they produce. The soaring harmonies of husband and wife vocal duo – Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker – are of course spine-tinglingy moving. Their subject matter is utterly accessible and realised in a simplistic, effective way: love, grief, families, longing. But more than that, they tap into the deep water of our hearts, touching places which are well hidden; which rarely see the light. They cut to the epicentre of your very being, piercing you.
Their last London gig was the Christmas Show at Koko. A livelier gig by all accounts: a younger crowd, a more jubilant time of year. Tonight's Barbican crowd remain seated and virtually motionless throughout. The most animated members sway gently. I want to shout 'hello' as the band walk silently on stage but the hushed atmosphere quashes my excitement.
'Nothing But Heart' – a song from their brilliant new record 'C'mon' - begins and already the lump in my throat is massive. Low are always excellent – pitch perfect, precise, models of composure - but this gig is incredibly sterile. They say nothing during the performance, except a dedication to Sparhawk's father whose 'birthday is around this time'.
They play some excellent material from 'C'mon'. It sounds like classic Low and it's wonderful – especially '$20' and 'Especially Me'. (This is a brilliant place to start if you are new to Low – it cuts to their quick: intensely beautiful and raw). Sparhawk said in a recent interview: "On 'Drums and Guns' we were intentionally messing with our own system, using sounds that we don't normally use, messing with the texture and structure of the song till it's barely there. It was a very contrary record. We were definitely pushing against what we'd done, doing some opposites. I knew that the next thing we did would swing in the opposite direction. It didn't know what that would be, but I figured it would be something that was more pretty. With these songs, it just didn't feel right to be dissonant or noisy with them."
And it certainly feels like a return to more lush Low territory. They play the quietly measured 'Nightingale' and 'You See Everything' before dropping in 'Pissing' and 'Monkey' for the hardcore fans (which honestly is everyone here – they garner an obsession. Low fans are a certain breed; this one included.) Clearly Sparhawk is a man who still loves to rock out. As the show progresses the distortion and bursts of heavy guitar become more frequent with old time favourites 'California', 'Breaker' and 'Violent Past'. It's a restrained, passionate performance and a pleasure to be spellbound by – which we all are.
As the end draws near, the audience begin to shout requests from Low's extensively brilliant back catalogue and, as usual, the band completely ignore them. It doesn't matter, what we get for the encore is brilliant: they finish with the incredible 'Two Step', 'Dinosaur Act' and 'Canada'. A sparse, utterly pure show which holds us tightly for the entire 90 minutes, barely allowing room for breath.
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