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The Low Anthem help revive the Columbus Theatre

"It's coming along slowly, but we're really excited with what we've got so far," Knox-Miller told me; he revealed that TLA will be debuting a lot of the new material this weekend, as well as Knox-Miller's craft art installation called the Moth Machine, which made its debut earlier this year at the Jamestown Arts Center. Ben kindly answered a quick Q&A just before our deadline, including a key hint about a "very special guest" at the Revival! bash. Check it out:

DID THE NEW SURROUNDINGS AFFECT THE APPROACH AND/OR SOUND? WERE YOU ONCE AGAIN DISCOVERING NEW SOUNDS ALONG THE WAY? Sometimes I can't tell if we're discovering new sounds or just reinventing the wheel in the most meticulous way possible, but recording in there has been insanely fun. We've been working a lot with odd environmental sound samples and making everything we can find from wine glasses to construction sites to a Bell Jet Ranger chopper. It's highly cinematic, fantasy . . . .

HOW DID THE RECORDING PROCESS DIFFER THIS TIME AROUND? With our last two records we've been attached to the idea of a "live" sound. Smart Flesh has almost no overdubs. Our new recordings are comparatively epic with some tracks having as many as 25 instruments on them. They are longer and travel frenetically like headless chickens. Like spilled mercury. The album reads like a Coen Brothers movie, where you often don't know if the hotel is actually on fire, or if you are in the middle of a dream sequence, or what . . . it's pretty indulgent for us, with lots of sugar for the ears and filigree for the attention-deprived . . . we hope. And Tyler's got the hot hand right now. His guitar playing (which sometimes does not sound like guitar playing) has redefined our sound.

CARE TO OFFER A HINT ABOUT SATURDAY'S "VERY SPECIAL GUEST"? Hint: our special guest is a big Ozzie Smith fan.

REVIVAL! with THE LOW ANTHEM + THE RICE CAKES + BROWN BIRD + THE BARR BROTHERS + KEITH McCURDY + THE SUGAR HONEY ICED TEA + ALEC K. REDFEARN & THE EYESORES | Columbus Theatre, 270 Broadway, Providence | Saturday, November 17 @ 6 pm | SOLD OUT & REVIVAL TOO! with THE LOW ANTHEM + SEAN KENNEDY + THE SILKS + LAST GOOD TOOTH + RACHEL JORGENSEN | Sunday, November 18 @ 6 pm | $15 | brownpapertickets.com | lowanthem.com