Low Skies
Indie Rock / Undefined
Low Skies' inception - a merging of young lives from varying middle-American locales - shines through vibrantly in their craft. Formed in 2000 in the calloused expanses of Chicago, the quintet's rooting stretches from the dusty voids of rural West Texas, through the rustic bounty of the heartland and on to the frost-tarnished streets of Minneapolis.
Spearheaded by vocalist/guitarist Chris Salveter and drummer Jason Creps, Low Skies self-released their first EP prior to finding a home with Flameshovel Records. The debut full-length, "The Bed," was released in 2002, finding praise locally and nationally. Shortly thereafter, on the cusp of a support tour the band finalized their lineup and expanded their sound with the addition of experimental button pusher Luther Rochester and brothers Jacob and Brandon Ross on guitars and bass, respectively.
After completing their first real tour as a fully formed band in the fall of 2003, Low Skies entered the studio intending to quickly and simply demo new material. In the process, though, the band realized that what they were creating was more than just demos and this 3-day session ultimately became the 2004 critically acclaimed EP "I Have Been to Beautiful Places." Low Skies toured relentlessly, supporting acts such as Neko Case and Okkervil River, but perhaps not until now has the band's full potential been actualized in the recording studio.
Heading back to Chicago's Semaphore Studios, a building that once played headquarters to a local Ukrainian-American Boy Scout troop, with close friend Scott Adamson behind the boards once again, the recording sessions presented the first real opportunity for the band and engineer to formulate a unified vision for an album. "All the Love I Could Find" is the end result of heavily sequestered, highly focused work. While all the band's instruments were tracked live in the same fashion as "I Have Been to Beautiful Places," the vocals were now recorded separately. More attention was paid to finding the perfect take in both sound and spirit; newfound voices and harmonies all became integral to the process. While Low Skies had recorded both of their previous records with Adamson, this was the first time he was able to help them create a work that sounded as spacious and loose as the band's live presence, yet also one that encompassed the full range of sonic qualities they'd been hearing in their heads since day one. Shortly after wrapping up the recording sessions, Rochester and the band parted ways.
Rooted in gothic elements of folk and blues that are undeniably American, but with a contemporary aim that gives a pulse to the songs, "All the Love I Could Find" is slow and steady, sweeping through arteries and dusty single-lane highways. Salveter's balladry, guttural and gorgeous, burns with conviction. Whereas his earlier lyrics could be likened to storytelling, often in the form of eerie fictional tales of love and death, much of the lyrical basis for the new album is drawn from real-life experience. The stories are every bit as haunting as before, yet even more powerful due to their origins in a typically very private history. The songs and melodies intertwine creating an oddly cohesive personal study in loss, loneliness, and heartbreak (one reason the vocal stylings of special guest Kelly Hogan are especially moving). "All the Love I Could Find" rises and resolves, mining the past while moving incessantly towards the horizon.
The world of Low Skies is one of dark truths and treacherous love. There's no masking the guilt, the loss, the longing, the sex or the blood. It's the dark end of the human spectrum that's often feared and avoided, and precisely where Low Skies resides, delivering it bruised and beautiful, with teeth bared and arms outstretched. The goose bumps will rise and the wrecking ball will drop, and if you don't end up saved you'll still feel oddly safe - wrapped up tight in a set of weary, weathered arms.
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