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Rating: Low is one of those bands viscerally loved by fans, who have never achieved significant public success but are held in high regard by critics. Their albums maintain a high standard, Low always hit the mark and know how to reinvent and surprise themselves (their latest work, "Double Negative," baffled many). As for "The Curtain Hits the Cast," their third full-length dated 1996, I have a suggestion: buy this album and don't listen to it. Put it on the shelf and forget about it. On the first truly bleak day that comes your way, one of those when nothing goes right, when time is an enemy and haunts you, one of those days when you come home breathless and it seems impossible to leave the accumulated burdens outside the door, well at the end of such a day, take The Curtain Hits the Cast and play it. If you can, relax, put on headphones, pour yourself a glass of wine, and start it. Only then will you be able to appreciate the dreamlike and delicate beauty of this work. Let yourself be carried away by the very slow weave of guitar, bass, and drums, enriched with a masterful touch of electronics, lose yourself in the splendid intertwining of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker's voices ("Stars Gone Out" is a gem), listen to the beautiful folk nuances of "Anon," get lost in the Nick Drake-like suggestions of "The Plan," repeat "Over the Ocean" like a mantra, follow the gentle slow-core turns of "Laugh," wait on tiptoe for the post-rock of "Lust" to complete its cycle and when you feel satisfied, thinking this album has nothing more to offer you, let yourself be surprised by the 15 minutes of warp and delay of "Do You Know How To Waltz?". When you finish this journey, you'll feel much better, I assure you, because few albums like this know how to take care of the soul.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Anon (04:20)
clean bill of health
five years at the bell
no one will admit
the time or the places they've been
anon
three scales of men
trace back to begin
no one will admit
ignoring the age of my skin
anon
03 Over the Ocean (03:50)
i'm over the ocean
over the hills, over the dell
over the fireline
over the sand, over the plan
over the empire
and if I belong, then I'll be longer than expected
and if I'm wrong, the mighty and strong will be rejected
06 Standby (05:10)
you'll take it back
glory and failure
you'll take it back
pure and unpunctured
standby
you'll take it back
you'll bring home the frame
you'll take it back
and weed through the black
standby
take back
07 Laugh (09:37)
they're gonna laugh
behind your back
once you're able to stand
steal your mattress, sever your hand
08 Lust (04:04)
are you finding answers
are you speaking in tongues
are you filled with anger
are you filled with lust
is it easy to bargain
is it easy to last
are you filled with anger
are you filled with lust
would it kill you to trust
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