The Low Anthem has contributed the latest addition to the A.V. Club's Undercover series: their take on the classic Wilco tune "A Shot in the Arm." Says the A.V. Club: "Though there are plenty of heirs apparent to Wilco's crossover-Americana charm, TLA seem like particularly strong candidates based on an already-impressive discography." The Low Anthem recently performed several songs off their new album, Smart Flesh, at NPR member station WFUV; watch the videos here.
As announced yesterday in the Nonesuch Journal, The Low Anthem will launch its spring and summer US tour when it returns from Europe next week, including headline shows and dates with Iron & Wine and Mumford & Sons. In the mean time, fans around the world can enjoy a different side of the band in the latest addition to the A.V. Club's Undercover series: The Low Anthem's take on the classic Wilco tune "A Shot in the Arm," off the latter band's 1999 album Summerteeth (available on vinyl in the Nonesuch Store).
"Though there are plenty of heirs apparent to Wilco's crossover-Americana charm," says the A.V. Club, "TLA seem like particularly strong candidates based on an already-impressive discography ... Enjoy."
Enjoy indeed by watching the video at avclub.com.
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As was recently noted in the Nonesuch Journal, before they left for their current European tour, The Low Anthem visited NPR member station WFUV in New York to talk about Smart Flesh and perform a number of songs off the album. The Low Anthem's music "is at times a rowdy stomp, at others a breathless, hymn-like hush," says host Claudia Marshall, "always compelling, inventive and fresh. Welcome to folk music 3.0." The audio from the segment was posted on npr.org last week. The video performances have now been posted to WFUV's online station, alternateside.org. Watch the videos below:
A Matter of Time
Boeing 737
Hey, All You Hippies!
Ghost Woman Blues
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The band closes out its European tour with four concerts in the UK and Ireland in the coming days. The Herald Scotland's Graeme Thomson spoke with Ben Knox Miller about the making of their latest Nonesuch release, Smart Flesh, in an abandoned pasta sauce factory in their home state of Rhode Island. "Painting delicate sound pictures with woodwind, pump organ, banjo and acoustic piano, the band manipulated the unique acoustics of the space on almost every track," writes Thomson. "Notes are struck and then slowly decay until what we’re hearing isn’t really music but its memory. It’s hugely evocative." You can read the interview at heraldscotland.com.
Consequence of Sound gives the album three-and-a-half stars. "There are plenty of reference points you might like to apply to The Low Anthem: Dylan, Tom Waits, The Band, Gram Parsons, and Leonard Cohen could provide stopovers," writes reviewer Tony Hardy. "The past is also evoked by the use of traditional instruments—pump organ, saw, Jew’s harp, harmonica, and various woodwinds alongside guitars, keys, and percussion. But largely, Smart Flesh comes across as an accomplished work with an equal eye to the future." Read the review at consequenceofsound.net.
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To pick up a copy of Smart Flesh on vinyl or CD, with high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the album included at checkout, head to the Nonesuch Store now. For more on the band's upcoming performances, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
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