ARTiST : Low Skies
ALBUM : All The Love I Could Give
LABEL : Flameshovel
GENRE : Indie
RELEASE : 2006-02-20
STREET : 2006-02-21
ENCODER : LAME 3.90.3
QUALiTY : 188kbps avg / 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo
SiZE : 73 MB
PLAYTiME : 00:52:06
+ TRACK LiSTiNG +
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[#] [Track Name] [Time]
1. Stone Mountain 4:36
2. Sweet Young Girls 4:53
3. Levelling 4:27
4. You Can't Help Those People 5:54
5. It Is True 4:18
6. The Cause Of It 5:17
7. To Fail You 3:50
8. Cousin 5:26
9. Torture 7:53
10. By Your Full Name 5:32
52:06
+ RELEASE iNFORMATiON +
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*No idea why this came so late, put the advance tag on it just because. Pretty
sure it's the same as the retail, but oh well.
Low Skies' inception - a merging of young lives from varying middle-American
locales - shines through vibrantly in their craft. Formed in 2000 in the
calloused expanses of Chicago, the quintet's rooting stretches from the dusty
voids of rural West Texas, through the rustic bounty of the heartland and on to
the frost-tarnished streets of Minneapolis.
Spearheaded by vocalist/guitarist Chris Salveter and drummer Jason Creps, Low
Skies self-released their first EP prior to finding a home with Flameshovel
Records. The debut full-length, "The Bed," was released in 2002, finding praise
locally and nationally. Shortly thereafter, on the cusp of a support tour the
band finalized their lineup and expanded their sound with the addition of
experimental button pusher Luther Rochester and brothers Jacob and Brandon Ross
on guitars and bass, respectively.
After completing their first real tour as a fully formed band in the fall of
2003, Low Skies entered the studio intending to quickly and simply demo new
material. In the process, though, the band realized that what they were creating
was more than just demos and this 3-day session ultimately became the 2004
critically acclaimed EP "I Have Been to Beautiful Places." Low Skies toured
relentlessly, supporting acts such as Neko Case and Okkervil River, but perhaps
not until now has the band's full potential been actualized in the recording
studio.
Heading back to Chicago's Semaphore Studios, a building that once played
headquarters to a local Ukrainian-American Boy Scout troop, with close friend
Scott Adamson behind the boards once again, the recording sessions presented the
first real opportunity for the band and engineer to formulate a unified vision
for an album. "All the Love I Could Find" is the end result of heavily
sequestered, highly focused work. While all the band's instruments were tracked
live in the same fashion as "I Have Been to Beautiful Places," the vocals were
now recorded separately. More attention was paid to finding the perfect take in
both sound and spirit; newfound voices and harmonies all became integral to the
process. While Low Skies had recorded both of their previous records with
Adamson, this was the first time he was able to help them create a work that
sounded as spacious and loose as the band's live presence, yet also one that
encompassed the full range of sonic qualities they'd been hearing in their heads
since day one. Shortly after wrapping up the recording sessions, Rochester and
the band parted ways.
Rooted in gothic elements of folk and blues that are undeniably American, but
with a contemporary aim that gives a pulse to the songs, "All the Love I Could
Find" is slow and steady, sweeping through arteries and dusty single-lane
highways. Salveter's balladry, guttural and gorgeous, burns with conviction.
Whereas his earlier lyrics could be likened to storytelling, often in the form
of eerie fictional tales of love and death, much of the lyrical basis for the
new album is drawn from real-life experience. The stories are every bit as
haunting as before, yet even more powerful due to their origins in a typically
very private history. The songs and melodies intertwine creating an oddly
cohesive personal study in loss, loneliness, and heartbreak (one reason the
vocal stylings of special guest Kelly Hogan are especially moving). "All the
Love I Could Find" rises and resolves, mining the past while moving incessantly
towards the horizon.