Low Anthem | Smart Flesh | Album Review

Story by Matt Sueper 

| Published Mar 1, 2011

The Low Anthem rose from anonymity with their sophomore LP Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, a straightforward folk-roots album speckled with gruff rockabilly tracks. The band utilized the same sound in their latest album, Smart Flesh, though they replaced the rougher tracks with more anthemic, contemporary themes. The familiar formula combined with more mature songwriting results in a product even greater than their breakout LP.

The Low Anthem relies heavily on other bands to influence their music. For instance, “Matter of Time” is eerily similar to Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” -- they have the same song structure give or take a couple of chords. “Hey, All You Hippies!” is a track that I would expect to hear on a Neil Young record. The Low Anthem themselves say the best way to create new music is to directly draw on outside influences. Their take on these artists, intentional or not, is very impressive and tasteful.

In typical form, The Low Anthem uses a wide variety of instruments on Smart Flesh. Each band member contributes their voice and can essentially play each instrument interchangeably, a rare feature that gives each song on this album a slight variation. “Apothecary Love” features a shaker constructed of a medication bottle and a rubber band, and multiple songs include clarinet and a musical saw, among other little-known and odd instruments featured. Their vocals also have to be part of the conversation. Despite dark lyrics, Smart Flesh is strangely peaceful and refreshing, mostly due to the angelic harmonies on nearly every song. The Low Anthem has a knack for giving the most sinister of lyrics a beautiful vibe.

Smart Flesh is a complete album in sound, though it would be nice to have a few extra tracks to fill it out a bit more. The listening experience in this case is confined to just ten tracks. Though a couple more songs would give this LP a more robust sound, the music at hand is deep in variety and, collectively, makes for a strong following to a young band’s breakout album.