BDFD: Low – The Great Destroyer
I decided to start out with one of my favorite albums of all time to get the ball rolling. What a masterpiece album. Before you write me off as a huge Low fanboy (which, I give you, I am) I should tell you why I prize this album so much. One of the things I value most in music is emotion. That seems to be an obvious statement, but I judge the worth of a song or album greatly on how much emotion is I can perceive from an album. And not all music conveys emotion effectively. As much as it fun to listen to and dance to, Katy Perry's E.T. evokes no emotion for me. I also realize that music like hard rock and metal very effectively communicates emotions like anger, fear, pain, and other things, but not only am I not inclined towards to the music, but their not emotions in which I care to indulge.
That all being said, this whole album (and Low's catalog in a whole) is such emotionally charged music that it feels as if Alan Sparhawk is bearing his soul to you. He so effectively communicates hope, melancholy, despair, gratitude, frustration, etc. that it is simply inspiring. Even after six years on the market, the album still manages to move me. The album has a couple stand-out tracks but is solid end-to-end without any sour tracks on the whole album. Three of the best tracks come right at beginning with "Monkey", "California", and "Silver Rider". "Silver Rider" may be the single greatest song at depicting in its soundscape what hope is. I honestly cannot recommend this album enough.
Listen to this album when: reflecting on the human experience
If this album was a piece of classic literature, it would be: The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
If this album was a color, it would be: sunrise yellow