The New Music

Retribution Gospel Choir 2 [Sub Pop]

On paper, Retribution Gospel Choir basically = Low – Mimi Parker + Eric Pollard. It seems like a harmless substitution but when you compare the two bands, there is one essential difference: volume.

When Alan Sparhawk and Steve Garrington first teamed up with Pollard, few people knew what the trio had in store. When their self-titled album was released in 2008 on Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde label, it was certainly a “must sit down to hear this” occasion. Anyone familiar with Low knew Sparhawk had it in him to unleash some of that pent up emotion that only really trickled out through meagre, hushed arrangements – RGC proved to be this outlet.

Now signed to Sub Pop, the band’s first album for the label lives up to its predecessor, forging ahead with more of that riff-ravaging rock, while introducing more nuances to hone their sound.

2 wastes little time reaching its TCOB mantra. “Hide It Away” likes it loud, but sounds as if it was leftover from Low’s The Great Destroyer, with its sprawling scope and layered chorus that suggest Mimi was in the studio. But then the opening sound of plugging in and letting loose on “Your Bird” confirms this is definitely Sparhawk on the graveyard shift.

“’68 Comeback,” gets even louder in its brief 43 seconds, unloading like Thin Lizzy after too many of those whiskey jars. It works as the perfect precursor to “Workin’ Hard,” a paean to Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s proto-grunge period that takes a blue-collar perspective and equally channels the likes of the Boss and straight disciples The Constantines with its anthemic chorus and muscular strumming.

But RGC aren’t simply a classic rock rehash. They indulge in a fit of lo-fi noise rock nonsense for “Something’s Going To Break,” bring in some strings for “Electric Guitar,” an eight-minute monster of a song, and then tone it down all Low-like on “Bless Us All,” which calls on a banjo and redemptive vocal refrain of the title to sign off like an Amen.

Low fans might be taken aback by hearing Sparhawk’s sonic exclamation, but behind the walls of rock guitar are songs that bear the same signature as anything he’s done prior to RGC. Still, it’s a rush to hear him let loose, making 2 the perfect answer to 17 years of trudging through the depths of slowcore.

Rating: B

- Cam Lindsay