The Trail

Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: A&E

The two indie rock kings of malaise, Low and Modest Mouse, have both released new albums this week, both of which are full of angst and misery to temper those sunny days. Also, the new album from each finds both bands at the top of their game.

For those who have not heard of Low, they are a three-piece band from Duluth who made a name for themselves in the mid-nineties by pioneering a gut-wrenchingly slow, sad and austere style of rock that came to be known as "slow-core." Of late, they have been incorporating new elements into their sound, namely tempos above 50 beats per minute.

Low's new album, "Drums and Guns" finds them exploring a more electronically informed style, using lots of loops and synths. Where previous Low albums got their point across through melancholy ridden lyrics and soft harmonies, "Drums and Guns" finds Low louder, quicker and angrier than ever before.

The first song is little more than a distorted guitar feedback loop over which lead singer Alan Sparhawk seethes, "All the pretty people/ they're all gonna die" for about four minutes. After opening with this weak track, however, the album takes a turn for the stronger.

The strength of many tracks owes much to the production of the album.

Where before, Low's albums were marked by the tension of empty spaces between notes, "Drums and Guns" is chock-full of snazzy production flairs which keep the songs musically interesting even when the lyrics border on lugubrious. The song "Breaker" is an excellent example of this, featuring hard-panned hand claps and exciting synth flourishes on top of Sparkhawk's vocal angst.

The two standout tracks on the album are "Sandanista" and "Murderer." "Sandanista is a protest song of the highest order, featuring a beautiful harmony by drummer Mimi Parker.

"Murderer" is an extremely powerful song written to God from the perspective of one whose faith is wavering: "Don't act so innocent/I've seen you pound your fists into the earth, and I've read your books."

The album loses points for closing with a song that blatantly rips off Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," but overall it is a powerful, depressing album that finds the band exploring exciting new territory.

Not to be outdone in the department of angst-ridden music, Modest Mouse's new album, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" finds the band mixing the rough style of their older material with the relatively polished style they put forth on "Good News For People Who Love Bad News."

The album opens with "March Into the Sea," which (believe it or not) sounds like a mix between The Pixies' "Debaser" and CCR's "Susie Q." And it rocks, in a terrifying way.

The discordance of the first track of the album is offset by the lead single, "Dashboard." It takes the poppy punch of "Float On" and augments it with strings that surprisingly do not detract from the emotional power of the song.

The rest of the album is fairly evenly distributed between tracks that sound like older, "Moon and Antarctica"-era Modest Mouse (read: angsty, distorted and aggressive) and newer "Good News"-era Modest Mouse (read: angsty, less distorted and less aggressive).

The formula works surprisingly well, and in such a way that should satisfy most fans. The lead single "Dashboard" even has enough crossover appeal to win some new fans to the group.

So Modest Mouse's "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" and Low's "Drums and Guns" are so far the best downer albums of the year.

Put these on and have yourself a good angry cry.

Jeff Merrion is tired of the Shins' lead singer harassing him on Facebook.

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