you might need a murderer, someone to do your dirty work...

first of all, i love Low. seriously, slow music that is bare and stripped down to just raw emotion. and fucking sad too. i guess being a mormon from minnesota is depressing? who knew?

anyhoo, here's one of my favorite of their releases, the "Murderer" ep put out on director Cameron Crowe's Vinyl Films label as part of a short lived 10" series that never saw completion (though i guess stuff is still in the works, like 5 years later... too busy making shmaltzy movies?) this is an awesome ep. three songs. short. to the point. it has the best version of the song "Murderer" (which appears on "The Great Destroyer" as well) and the other two songs ain't bad either.

i must've listened to this ep like 10,000 times by now. if you like sad, slow music, then get it and cry yourself a river. or don't. either way.

Low - Murderer
http://www.mediafire.com/?nkj2jizqjzh

there and gone in a flash...

ah flashpapr. slo-core at it's finest, in my opinion (besides the almighty ida, who lends a member to flashpapr, and, of course, low.) this band was pretty much a side-project of one mr. fred thomas, who sings and plays guitar on these songs. fred also did time in the wonderful band lovesick as well as being a main member of saturday looks good to me, but i think this is his best project. these songs are personal, heartfelt, and sad (though hopeful).

the highlight of the album is the song "free rides on the bus" which is a happy jaunty number that truly capsulizes a hazy summer day riding the bus with a friend and just having not a care in the world. the rest of the album is much less upbeat, though no less good. fred's warbly voice lends a charm to these songs that would make them sound half-hearted if sung by someone else, and the overall folky vibe is fresh compared to the other earlier flashpapr albums. this is no lo-fi affair, however, these songs are recorded crystal clear and beautiful, which is quite a difference from slgtm (which tends to go towards a blown out, bedroom sound).

sad songs that make me long for summer... this cd means a lot to me, and i really hope you all download it and cherish it as much as i do.

this cd gets my highest recommendation and it's a crime that no one knew of them when they were around (are they still around? the website hasn't been updated since '04)

flashpapr s/t

http://www.mediafire.com/?fmldm5gxcyo'