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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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Seattle Weekly "Despite the general claustrophobia of city life, their debut is drunk on atmospherics- part Zen Koan, part whisky soda.
Christopher Salveter's drowsy howl- think Jeff Buckley meets Jeffrey Lee Pierce- calls out to the afterlife, while his band slowly turns a wake
into a hootenanny."
The Stranger "The murky mood wrapped around the rock 'n' roll core is a kind of submersion, like exploring the remains of an underwater
wreck; the songs lurch with the surprises discovered within. It's a spectral, enigmatic sound...when [vocalist Christopher Salveter] scales
upward into falsetto there is almost a kind of decompression sickness."
What's Up "[Low Skies] creates swells of moody, but powerful rhythms that eventually crash down on the listener, bathing them
in sonic brilliance."
Willamette Week "It's as if, somewhere in Colorado, Joy Division and Uncle Tupelo had a monumental bout of fisticuffs, [and] Jeff
Buckley and Robert Smith stood on the sidelines and cheered. And when the titans left they agreed to keep Low Skies their perfect little
secret."
Portland Mercury "The Stories on The Bed- full of the King James Bible, murder, Texas, dead babies, bloodlust, and plain lust- might
give the listener the feeling that [vocalist Christopher Salveter] had listened to a lot of Nick Cave and read Carson McCullers and Flannery
O'Connor; there's a very Catholic sense of retribution and punishment here. But an elegant loneliness suffuses Salveter's lyrics."
JustAddNoise.com "Disassociated and disturbing. Evocative and beautiful. Ambivalent and descriptive."
The Onion "Christopher Salveter's languid, pained vocals set the grim tone and leisurely tempo, and Luther Rochester's shimmering
keyboard flourishes provide a touch of hope to the sound."
Alternative Press "Moody, country-tinged atmospheric rock that sounds like it was baked to a finish (take that any way you like) in
the American Southwest."
San Francisco Bay Guardian "Chicago fivesome Low Skies are only three years old, but they glower and moan as darkly as the crankiest
and creakiest old-school C&W vet or the most blinkered and bitter indie-rocker."
Weekly Alibi "Chicago's Low Skies sound as if they've methodically absorbed the souls of Calexico and The Blue Nile- the creepy mystique
of barren Southwestern deserts at night- meets- heady British secret society pop. Fans of the aforementioned bands and others like Macha,
The Album Leaf, and Elliot, will be stunned into submission."
Omaha Weekly Reader "Eerie and atmospheric, ominous and sometimes unsettling, Low Skies' music is a rather unknown gem that should be on
everyone's list."
Chicago Reader "There is a stormy, ominous burble and boil to their sound, which segues back and forth between rural atmospherics and
urban ones. Comparisons have been made to Jeff Buckley, but Jeffrey Lee Pierce seems more apt."
Splendid.com "What is clear- or what becomes clear, upon frequent and serious listens- is that "The Bed" is one of the year's best albums,
as full and rewarding a listening experience as I have had in years."
Playback "This music would be downright depressing if it didn't feel so good to hear. Maybe the way some substances can cause folks to become
coffee junkies or alcoholics, the music of Low Skies likewise affects those who read Hesse or collect small pieces of rusted metal."
Tucson Weekly "Cocksure enough to meander down dangerous deserted back alleys at 4 in the morning, but human enough to be scared to death
by what it finds. The perfect accompaniment to a solitary, late night desert road trip."
Weekly Alibi "A Nick Cave for the new generation."
Aquarian Weekly "A sound consisting of moody, atmospheric rock with a strong country and desert-rock influence."
MagnaPhone "Low Skies have crafted a sound so deeply rooted in emotion, memory and thought that is seems almost trivializing
to start speaking about genres and styles."
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Right Click on Image and Select "Save link..." to download 300dpi photo
First image by Paul Elledge & MUST be credited upon use
Copyright 2005 Flameshovel Records
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The Bed CD
(DIG010)
Released |
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I Have Been to Beautiful Places CD
(DIG020)
Released 09.07.04
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All the Love I Could Find CD
(DIG033)
Released 02.20.06 |
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