Low
I Could Live In Hope

The Low certainly represent the band that more than any other has managed to bring the so-called "slow-core" to life, a movement characterized by slow, expansive songs, played in an apathetic and depressed manner. The album in question is their unforgettable debut in LP format, dated 1994. The means employed are minimal, and almost always the backbone consists of the languid guitar chords, unfolding like the solemn chimes of a clock of the soul, creating at times an almost ascetic atmosphere, of great suggestion.
The singing seems almost like a prayer, so collected and intimate. The air that one breathes is not sad, there is no sense of suffering, the sensation is of a spiritual catharsis, of a cosmic mourning, timidly drawn by the instruments, creators of this existentialist canvas.

A shining example of this philosophy is the opening "Words", as delicate as a caress, slipping away each time without fully savoring it. "Slide", wonderfully sung by drummer Mimi Parker, seems to possess a more hallucinated quality, given by a liquid and enchanting guitar. The hypnotic "Lazy" bases its charm on a circular guitar theme. "Lullaby" is the longest track on the record, and if we want, also the most "complex". The initial declamation by the singer, almost a cappella, gradually gives way to a splendid funereal guitar theme, with a vaguely psychedelic flavor. A masterpiece, perhaps not placed in the center of the album by chance.
The dreamy "Down" is another gem of rare beauty, as is the disorienting requiem of "Cut". To bid us farewell, awaits the sweet lullaby of "Sunshine", the only glimmer of hope, almost an elegy to love, moving in its simplicity.

A record of absolute value, it deserves to be savored in total silence, of which it could be defined as the ideal soundtrack.