CD Reviews

The Low Anthem | Smart Flesh

Nonesuch (2011)

By MIRIAM LAMEY | February 23, 2011

3.0 Stars

For those eager to see that indie-folk cherry get popped, the Low Anthem's latest should be the lucky one to do the deed. With their come-hither instrumentation and sonic diversity, this band produce wonderful sounds that could seduce even the hardest black-metal heart. (Editor's note: see Hekseri, above.) The introspective "Burn" is full of twinkling banjo and weeping musical saw; the campfire ditty "Apothecary Love" is punctuated by longing slide-guitar accents that weave under tight harmonics. Those who need a point of reference can couch "Boeing 737" in Neutral Milk Hotel territory - the track is replete with crashing cymbals and insistent, bleating brass. Yet for the most part, the Low Anthem forge their own accessible and sophisticated mood-driven path, as with the lone, lost oboe that intensifies the sadness in single "Ghost Woman Blues," and the sunny guitars combined with throaty organ chords that uplift the CSNY-like "Hey All You Hippies!" With its intelligent instrumentation and the courage of its indie-rock production-value convictions, Smart Flesh won't just set many a lonely heart aflutter - it will stick around in the morning to make breakfast.

Topics: CD Reviews , Music, New England, The Low Anthem, More

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