The Low Anthem kicks their tour at the Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington, DC, tonight. NPR's All Songs Considered will be broadcasting the concert live online at npr.org. The Associated Press calls their new album, Smart Flesh, "stunningly memorable ... Decidedly eclectic, the Low Anthem use simple chords, haunting sounds and unusual instrumentation to create something sincere and beautiful." On this week's New York Times Popcast, Times writer David Carr says: "You don't hear singing like that every other day. It's very, very impressive."
The Low Anthem, whose latest album, Smart Flesh, was released earlier this week on Nonesuch, kicks off a brief winter tour at the Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington, DC, tonight. NPR's All Songs Considered will be there, broadcasting the concert live online. Tune in to npr.org, starting tonight at 9:30 PM ET.
This week's release of Smart Flesh has been met with extensive critical praise, including, most recently the Associated Press, which calls Smart Flesh "stunningly memorable." Reviewer Michael McCall says of the band: "Decidedly eclectic, the Low Anthem use simple chords, haunting sounds and unusual instrumentation to create something sincere and beautiful."
For all the comparisons to legendary folk rockers the band has earned, McCall says they have something special of their own to offer. "Wonderfully out of step with their time, the Low Anthem purposefully march to their hazy beat," he concludes. "Yet what they create is so engaging that they're already leading a growing legion of fans down a thoughtful path of their own making."
You can read the complete AP review at abcnews.go.com.
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The band is featured in this week's New York Times Popcast. Times writer David Carr, who wrote a great profile of the band that ran in Sunday's Arts & Leisure section, expounds upon what he finds so admirable about this "band that's full of a lot of quiet surprises."
Among his accolades, Carr says that singer Ben Knox Miller "has a really fungible, beautiful voice, and he's able to go from a whisper to a stomp and pull you in." He describes "Wire," an instrumental piece on the album by Jocie Adams, as a "beautiful piece of music, beautifully done." After a discussion of the group's harmonies, Carr exclaims: "You don't hear singing like that every other day. It's very, very impressive."
Listen to the Popcast at artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com.
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To pick up a copy of Smart Flesh on vinyl, CD, and in a deluxe edition, head to the Nonesuch Store, where orders include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the complete album. You'll also find a special bundle of the album with a limited-edition letterpress poster signed by the band.
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