| I Could Live in Hope | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 18, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | Autumn 1993 | |||
| Studio | Noise New Jersey, Hope Township, New Jersey [1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:05 | |||
| Label | Vernon Yard | |||
| Producer | Mark Kramer | |||
| Low chronology | ||||
| ||||
I Could Live in Hope is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on February 18, 1994, on Vernon Yard Recordings.
A reaction to the abrasiveness of alternative rock in the early 1990s, when grunge had reigning popularity, Low "eschewed conventional songwriting in favour of mood and movement." [3] [4] Influenced by Brian Eno and Joy Division, the band, working with long-time producer and New York underground mainstay Mark Kramer, favored slow-paced compositions, a minimum of instrumentation and an economy of language. [5] [4] [6] [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [8] |
| NME | 7/10 [9] |
| Q | [10] |
I Could Live in Hope received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Writing for the Chicago Tribune , Greg Kot felt that "its heavy-lidded drama creeps by in all-enveloping slow motion" and called it "the best record made for those dreary, nothing's-going-on-and-I-want-to-crawl-into-a-hole afternoons since Galaxie 500's debut." [8]
Featuring an "unprecedent pace in the then-flowering underground," [4] I Could Live in Hope helped to birth the genre known as slowcore, which encompassed acts from Bedhead to Codeine throughout the 1990s. [6]
Pitchfork placed I Could Live in Hope at number 49 on its 1999 list of the best albums of the 1990s. [11] The same year, critic Ned Raggett ranked it at number 37 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties" for Freaky Trigger . [12] In 2004, the album was included in Les Inrockuptibles ' "50 Years of Rock'n'Roll" list. [13] In 2018, Pitchfork placed it at number 22 on its list of the 30 best dream pop albums. [14]
All tracks are written by Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker and John Nichols, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Words" | Sparhawk | 5:45 | |
| 2. | "Fear" | Sparhawk | 2:12 | |
| 3. | "Cut" | Sparhawk | 5:43 | |
| 4. | "Slide" | Parker | 3:46 | |
| 5. | "Lazy" | Sparhawk | 5:35 | |
| 6. | "Lullaby" | Parker | 9:46 | |
| 7. | "Sea" | Sparhawk, Parker | 1:45 | |
| 8. | "Down" | Sparhawk | 7:24 | |
| 9. | "Drag" | Sparhawk | 5:11 | |
| 10. | "Rope" | Sparhawk | 6:11 | |
| 11. | "Sunshine" | Oliver Hood | Sparhawk, Parker | 2:59 |
Credits adapted from the liner notes of I Could Live in Hope. [15]
Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its first decade, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. Since early 2004 the lineup has been unchanged, consisting of Tweedy, Stirratt, guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, keyboard player Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released thirteen studio albums, a live double album, and four collaborations: three with Billy Bragg and one with the Minus 5.
Gish is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on May 28, 1991, by Caroline Records. The album was produced by Butch Vig and frontman Billy Corgan, with the latter describing Gish as a "very spiritual album" and "an album about spiritual ascension".
Slowcore, also known as sadcore, is a subgenre of indie rock characterised by subdued tempos with typically minimalist instrumentation alongside solemn and melancholic lyrical performances.
Low was an American indie rock band from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993 by Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. The band was a trio from 1993 to 2020, having featured four different bassists. Low disbanded following the death of Parker in 2022.
So Tonight That I Might See is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star, released by Capitol Records on September 27, 1993 in the United Kingdom, and on October 5, 1993 in the United States.
D. I. Go Pop is the second studio album by English post-rock band Disco Inferno, released on 28 February 1994. After forming as a post-punk band in 1989, the band subsequently worked towards an innovative production approach that incorporated found sound elements through extensive use of digital samplers. The band released several critically acclaimed EPs in this vein from 1992–93, and recorded D. I. Go Pop concurrently with some of those preceding EPs, working with producer Charlie McIntosh. The album cover, designed by Fuel and featuring photography by David Spero, has been described as "one of the most indelible album cover images in the '90s."
TNT is the third studio album by American post-rock band Tortoise, released in 1998 by Thrill Jockey. After Jeff Parker joined the band in 1996, Tortoise recorded TNT over the course of a year with drummer John McEntire acting as producer, editor and mixing. Taking influence from their remix material of the 1990s, the band recorded the album using hard disk technology in a "forward-then-back" approach, with members individually adding parts to tracks at different stages until the tracks were completed. As with previous albums, the band members also shared instrumental roles.
The Great Destroyer is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on January 25, 2005, as their first recording on Sub Pop Records.
The Curtain Hits the Cast is the third studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released in 1996 on Vernon Yard Recordings.
Bowery Electric was an American band formed in New York in 1993 by Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener.
Long Division is the second studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on May 23, 1995, on Vernon Yard Recordings.
Songs For A Dead Pilot is a 1997 EP/mini-album by Duluth, Minnesota slowcore group Low, released in 1997. It was their first release on Kranky, and is viewed as their most minimalistic recording. The title is a reference to a pilot whose plane had crashed, whom the band read about. No credit is given for the cover artwork in the liner notes.
"Now My Heart Is Full" is a song by British singer Morrissey from his fourth solo album Vauxhall and I. The song's refrain of "Dallow, Spicer, Pinkie, Cubitt" references the gangsters from Graham Greene's 1938 novel Brighton Rock and the film of the same name.
The Finally LP is a compilation album by Mark Kozelek. The CD was released on December 9, 2008 via Caldo Verde Records. From the press release:
Over the years, Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and his earlier band, Red House Painters, has gained well deserved praise for his extraordinary songwriting. At the same time, he has developed a parallel reputation for his unique covers of other people's material. Many of these tracks were recorded for tribute albums that are now unavailable. Caldo Verde Records has now collected them in a cohesive, 10-song CD titled The Finally LP.
Vernon Yard Recordings was an independent label owned by Virgin Records. Named after a small mews off the Portobello Road in Notting Hill, the label was known for its emphasis on modern psychedelic rock and its many subgenres, including shoegaze, slowcore, and indie Britpop.
C'mon is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on April 12, 2011 on Sub Pop records. The album was recorded at Sacred Heart Studio, a former Catholic church in Duluth, Minnesota, where the band previously recorded 2002's Trust. The album includes guest contributions from Nels Cline, Caitlin Moe of Trans-Siberian Orchestra (violin) and Dave Carroll of Trampled by Turtles (banjo).
Double Negative is the twelfth studio album by Low, released on September 14, 2018. It is the last album to feature bass guitarist Steve Garrington, who would go on to leave the band in 2020.
Hey What is the thirteenth and final studio album by Minnesota-based duo Low, released on September 10, 2021, through Sub Pop. It is their third recording in a row produced by BJ Burton, building on the distorted sound of the band's previous album Double Negative (2018). Burton and Hey What were nominated in the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical category at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. It is their only album as a duo of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, all earlier Low albums being recorded as a trio.
White Roses, My God is the upcoming second solo album by former Low guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk, set for release on September 27, 2024, by Sub Pop. It is Sparhawk's first album since the death of his wife and bandmate, Mimi Parker, and the subsequent end of their band. Sparhawk began recording for the album in late 2023.
Your Voice Is Not Enough is a tribute album featuring covers of songs by Low in dedication to Mimi Parker. The album was announced in December 2023 without a release date. The collection contains contributions from artists such as Planning for Burial, Have a Nice Life, and Midwife among other bands, and was collated and released by the record label The Flenser.
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