Albums to watch

Hey What

Low

Hey What

Thirteenth studio album from the indie rock duo from Duluth, Minnesota produced by BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Twin Shadow, Empress Of)

ADM rating[?]

8.1

Label
Sub Pop
UK Release date
10/09/2021
US Release date
10/09/2021
  1. 10.0 |   The Skinny

    Low continue to surprise on their thirteenth album HEY WHAT, feeding off the same charged energy that made Double Negative so impactful
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  2. 10.0 |   The Irish Times

    A soundscape unlike any of their previous albums – which, quite simply, conclusively prove that Low are undeniably one of the best bands in the world
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  3. 9.1 |   Beats Per Minute

    A band who have had decades to hone their work within their own slow and deliberate pace and environment, making their most vital, forward-thinking music at an age where it can be utmost nurtured. I honestly hope many emerging artists will draw inspiration from that right now
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  4. 9.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    If you’re not immediately hypnotized by the first 30 seconds, you will be as “White Horses” bleeds into the comparatively calmer “I Can Wait,” with its beautifully honest refrain of “I’m afraid”
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  5. 9.0 |   Uncut

    It is easy to make music that is difficult and it is easy to make music that is beautiful. But it is quite the trick to be both at the same time, and on Hey What, Low mark themselves out as masters of the art. Print edition only

  6. 9.0 |   Clash

    A potential classic that surprises at every turn
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  7. 9.0 |   NME

    18 years into their career, the band continue to reshape rock music, rounding off a trifecta of records that's seen them subtly reinvent themselves
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  8. 9.0 |   God Is In The TV

    It’s tempting to draw comparisons with another left-field act, Mogwai, who continue to evolve a quarter of a century in and to make ever-increasing gains on the proper, grown-up album charts. To these ears both acts are vying for album of the year – and I can’t be the only one who thinks so
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  9. 8.6 |   Paste Magazine

    Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker’s 13th album in nearly three decades — and first as a duo — is a visceral treatise on modern-day existential dread
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  10. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    HEY WHAT reflects on Double Negative’s despair and emerges with a defiant affirmation that our lives are worth living, and worth fighting for
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  11. 8.4 |   Pitchfork

    On the follow-up to 2018’s astonishing Double Negative, Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk push deeper into abstraction, finding fresh angles on the themes that have animated them since the beginning
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  12. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    The Minnesota band’s 13th album helps cement its status as one of the most indelible and bold acts in rock music
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  13. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    The veteran group continue the scorched digital manipulations of 2018 masterpiece Double Negative, but their vocals are left pristine and beautiful
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  14. 8.0 |   Mojo

    The information exchange attains a near perfect equilibrium between sanctified melody and distress signals. Print edition only

  15. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    Low's latest finds Sparkhawk and Parker at a thrillingly creative and intrepid peak, building off their experimental blueprint laid out with their 2015 LP Ones and Sixes and fully realized on Double Negative
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  16. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Low’s Hey What finds the duo fully embracing sonic expressionism while further honing their impeccable songcraft
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  17. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    ‘Hey What’ takes Low further out than ever
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  18. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    A series of minimalistic, simple folk songs, amplified by distortions and myriad textures, which previously overwhelmed the songs, but now acts as another voice completely in their control, even during the moments of abject sonic chaos
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  19. 7.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    It’s a richly imperfect LP, whose broad contours one can just about discern, but onto which an infinite number of meanings can be projected; for that, it’s a record worth cherishing
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  20. 7.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    On their 13th album, Low doesn’t sound sure which tack they’re taking but, even in the malaise, they make it sound amazing
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  21. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Low’s new album HEY WHAT improves upon the experimental Double Negative but has a somewhat predictable formula and mostly lacks drums
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  22. 7.0 |   All Music

    Sparhawk and Parker are still trying to make sense of a world that seems increasingly alien, and the paradox of raging against the artificiality while using it as a creative choice is powerfully effective here
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  23. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    It is neither their most immediate nor their warmest album, yet its provocations are effective, and become curious and complex in light of the melody and harmony that sits above them
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  24. 6.0 |   The FT

    The Minnesota duo’s new album pushes electronically amplified sounds towards the limits of coherence
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  25. 6.0 |   American Songwriter

    Not surprisingly, Hey What makes for the attention-grabber its title implies
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