Smart Flesh

Providence, Rhode Island’s Low Anthem record sparse, luminous Americana-tinged music that’s as lonesome in its way as Dolorean, Pale Horse and Rider and many other groups who cherish the sound of simple bands playing direct music. LA’s third album was recorded at a studio in Providence and at a vacant pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, RI, which gives the album a natural reverb and gave the band enough space to stretch out and let their natural chemistry dictate the flow. George Carter’s “Ghost Woman Blues” is a spare opener that allows the music to build to the distorted heights of “Boeing 737” before settling into the haunting harmonies of “Love and Altar” and the soothing, droning harmonium work of “Matter of Time.” “Hey, All You Hippies!” plays like a loose-ended barn jam on traditional country music with all instruments and vocalists on deck. “I’ll Take Out Your Ashes” returns to rustic country, with banjos ticking away like time. The Deluxe Version includes four additional tracks  of solid caliber, and a video for “Ghost Woman Blues.”