The Great Destroyer is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on January 25, 2005, as their first recording on Sub Pop Records.[1]

The Great Destroyer
A painting of clouds with the album name offset
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 25, 2005 (2005-01-25)
RecordedMay 3 – September 27, 2004
StudioTarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, New York, United States
GenreSlowcore
Length52:48
LabelSub Pop
Producer
Low chronology
Trust
(2002)
The Great Destroyer
(2005)
Drums and Guns
(2007)

"California", a song about Sparhawk's mother, was released as the album's first single, backed with a demo of "Cue the Strings".[2] A remix EP of "Monkey", entitled "Tonight the Monkeys Die", soon followed.[3] Music videos were created for both.[2][3]

The title of the album (as well as the song "Silver Rider") is taken from the story within the album art.[4]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Blender     [6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
The Guardian     [8]
Mojo     [9]
NME8/10[10]
Pitchfork5.5/10[11]
Q     [12]
Rolling Stone     [13]
SpinA−[14]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The Great Destroyer received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from 34 critic scores. The site named it the 46th-best reviewed album of 2005.[5]

Track listing edit

All songs written by Mimi Parker, Zak Sally, and Alan Sparhawk

  1. "Monkey" – 4:19
  2. "California" – 3:23
  3. "Everybody's Song" – 3:55
  4. "Silver Rider" – 5:03
  5. "Just Stand Back" – 3:04
  6. "On the Edge Of" – 3:49
  7. "Cue the Strings" – 3:30
  8. "Step" – 3:18
  9. "When I Go Deaf" – 4:41
  10. "Broadway (So Many People)" – 7:14
  11. "Pissing" – 5:08
  12. "Death of a Salesman" – 2:28
  13. "Walk into the Sea" – 2:56

Personnel edit

Low

  • Mimi Parker – percussion, vocals, production, mixing
  • Zak Sally – bass guitar, production, mixing, painting, illustrations
  • Alan Sparhawk – guitar, vocals, production, mixing

Additional personnel

  • Gerry Beckley – backing vocals on "Everybody's Song"
  • Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound
  • Dave Fridmann – production, mixing, keyboards on "California", "Everybody's Song", "Step", and "Broadway (So Many People)"
  • Tom Herbers – engineering
  • Jeff Kleinsmith – layout
  • Hollis Mae Sparhawk – vocals on "Step", photography

Charts edit

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 67
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 190
Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 72
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[19] 13
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[20] 19

References edit

  1. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "The Great Destroyer – Low". AllMusic. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Sub Pop Records : Low : California Single
  3. ^ a b Sub Pop Records : Low : Tonight The Monkeys Die
  4. ^ "RELEVANT Magazine - Low, The Great Destroyer". Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for The Great Destroyer by Low". Metacritic. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Wolk, Douglas (March 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Blender (34): 141. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  7. ^ Chen, Steven (January 21, 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Entertainment Weekly. p. 88.
  8. ^ Peschek, David (February 11, 2005). "Low, The Great Destroyer". The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  9. ^ "Low: The Great Destroyer". Mojo (135): 94. February 2005.
  10. ^ "Low: The Great Destroyer". NME: 59. January 29, 2005.
  11. ^ Raposa, David (January 26, 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  12. ^ "Low: The Great Destroyer". Q (224): 100. March 2005.
  13. ^ Fricke, David (February 10, 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  14. ^ Scholtes, Peter S. (February 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Spin. 21 (2): 91. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Low – The Great Destroyer" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Low – The Great Destroyer". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  17. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 5, 2005". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  19. ^ "Low Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  20. ^ "Low Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2011.

External links edit