Things We Lost in the Fire

Low

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 2, 2003)
• Original Release Date: January 22, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kranky
• ASIN: B000058DX3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,234 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
"Pah-rum-a-pum-pum!" Yes, that was Low that provided the soundtrack for a Christmas Gap commercial. With a slowed-down version of "The Little Drummer Boy," the stark-sounding Minnesota trio subtly marched into the aural lexicon of pop culture. Low's fifth full-length release, Things We Lost in the Fire, is an appropriate follow-up to their auspicious television debut. The Minnesota trio's stark sound has evolved--ever so slightly--since their 1994 debut, I Could Live in Hope. Tracking their career is like surveying the changes in a river's course--progress is perceptible, but just barely. Still, while modesty and restraint are key fundamentals for Low, Fire is full of grace and revelations. While earlier efforts lacked in contrast, "Dinosaur Act" and "Like a Forest" build and swell like thunderstorms coming over the horizon. Drummer Mimi Parker's vocals on "Embrace" are particularly evocative of the trio's evolution; achingly vulnerable, she lulls the listener with a promise of sanctuary before "crushing your skull with my warming embrace." What a glorious way to go. --Andria Lisle

Product Description
Fifth full length from Duluth trio recorded with Steve Albini. Guests include Marc D'Gli Antoni of Soul Coughing, Daniel Huffman and Ida Pearle of Shellac. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars once again, February 1, 2001

By	"emmkay" (Texas) - See all my reviews

For those of you anxiously awaiting another stunner from Low, here it is. Another beautiful release filled with soaring harmonies and pulsing basslines. This album is not so dreamy as some of the past, like Secret Name, nor as stripped down as Songs For a Dead Pilot. It travels up and down hills of musical introspection and celebration. Emotional tracks like Dinosaur Act pick up the pace, volume, and intensity, and the added strings and trumpet round out Low's amazing sound while still leaving it spare and clean. Other stand-out tracks, Sunflowers, Medicine Magazines, and In Metal inject Low trademark combinations of seamlessly meshed harmonies and inspired melodies with lyrics winding around the dark sides of life. The combination of Zak Sally's heartbeat bass, Mimi Parker's clean rhythms and crystal tones, and Alan Sparhawk's heart-breaking vocals and guitar lines never fails to move and inspire me. Whether you're a diehard or a new fan of Low, Things We Lost is sure to occupy a sweet spot in your soul for a long time to come. If you have any opportunity to see Low live, do yourself the favor and get there. Seeing and hearing them work their magic in person was worth their whole catalogue to me.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practically Perfect in Every Way, August 14, 2002

By	E. Filson (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a lovely album, from the beginning strains of cello to the very last hushed tones. Low has even begun to express a sense of wonder and, gasp, happiness. Rest assured that they will still keep you company on rainy days when it's all gone wrong and even the brighter moments are tinged with melancholy.

People who have difficulty with subtlety (Mogwai, whom I like, seems to have quiet moments only to make the loud moments louder...) or well-considered composition will be confused. This is not (bad) music intent on proving itself. This is not a post-rock ensemble of artistes intent on embodying "cool."

Those who want the dark, unrelenting tones of "Long Division" will likewise be disappointed, although I think a few listens may win them over. I would ask that anyone listening to a Low album give it a couple of listens over a length of time. I usually immediately dislike a new Low album ("This doesn't sound like Secret Name...") until it begins to sink in and I begin to grasp then crave the turns of phrase or lilt of voice or la la la.

Low is not a schtick and with every album they evolve, mature, try new things, and expand their expressive vocabulary. The new album, "Truth," is coming out in late September and when I heard the MP3's on the Kranky website, little one minute samples, I thought, "This is terrible, this isn't 'Things We Lost in the Fire' or 'Secret Name' or 'The Curtain Hits the Cast'" But now I find myself humming the samples, listening to them in anticipation.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (s)low, August 20, 2001

By A Customer

Alright, look here: Low's music is slow. It always has been, and since they've put out 6 or so albums with little change, it always will be. People who do not have the attention span to listen to rock music at a non-radio-friendly pace need to QUIT REVIEWING IT AND COMPLAINING ABOUT IT BEING TOO SLOW. This is Low's most conventional album thus far, in that their sound has become fuller due to richer arrangements and increased instrumentation, and the compositions build and crescendo in ways they previously would have avoided. It is consistently beautiful; the darkness of "The Curtain Hits the Cast" and "Dead Pilot" have been tempered by more consistent (albeit still very muted) doses of sweetness and light. This is not as slow as Music for Airports, or as droning as Tony Conrad, or as dark as much of the Cure's earlier albums. If you like music like the aformentioned, or maybe a prettier Joy Division, then give this a try; otherwise, be warned, please.