(Stomp/Sub Pop)

Rock shapes from the man who put the ‘awesome’ in slowcoresome.

It’s a bit of a giggling overstatement to suggest that there are more chord changes and notes in the first handful of songs from Retribution Gospel Choir’s sophomore release than have ever appeared in Alan Sparhawk’s entire recorded history with long-time band Low. But there are definitely more grandiose rock & roll injections than you could reasonably expect from a man who built a cult-like following with morose, minimalist plodding song structures and the most haunting boy-girl vocal harmonies since The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter. This is Sparhawk – with Low bassist Steve Garrington and longtime friend Eric Pollard behind the drums and second microphone – exuding his most boyish rock sneer, awash in thunderous rhythms and meaty riffs. Don’t think of it as a guilty pleasure but as sincere adoration. Opening track Hide It Away is a post-grunge singalong that would be explosive on a band 13 years younger – or more accurately if it was released 13 years ago – before locking into groove after groove that is elevated by Sparhawk’s new vocal buddy. The appropriately titled ’68 Comeback is just under a minute of adrenaline and strangled guitars and indicative of the relaxed, almost jammy recording process. Poor Man’s Daughter and the hymnal closer Bless Us All show a man that can still do slow and sullen with ease, while the eight minute odyssey prior on Electric Guitar has all the drama of, say, Smashing Pumpkins without leaping face first into bluster. If Low is about creating more with less, Retribution Gospel Choir is about creating even more with more.

****

MITCH ALEXANDER

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*