Keith O'Brien

There are few bands that have consistently produced compelling and adventurous music at such slow a speed than Low. Though the band is on record as disdaining the genre attributed to them (Slowcore), it’s apt. Their music oscillates between brooding and menacing, claustrophobia and sparseness, often without changing much in between.

A reason why they may not like Slowcore is it implies a sameness or stillness to their music. That is far from reality. And I wanted to prove it, so I started listening to the entire catalog while organizing based on preference. Would all of my favorite songs cluster around their most iconic album Things We Lost in the Fire? Would they all have the same dirge-like quality or would I have grown to appreciate their poppier, more straightforward rock? Would my tastes span their entire ouvre? The answer is yes, no, yes, yes.

Before I get into the full list (complete with embedded Spotify playlist), a quick look at how the albums stack up, based on average rating of song.

Album	Order Released	Average Ranking
Things We Lost in the Fire	5	19.25
Secret Name	4	37.73
Double Negative	12	39.36
Long Division	2	52.88
The Great Destroyer	7	61.85
C’mon	10	76.10
I Could Live In Hope	1	79.82
Ones and Sixes	9	81.00
The Invisible Way	11	83.00
Drums And Guns	8	89.31
Trust	6	98.31
The Curtain Hits The Cast	3	98.67
Grand Total		69.00

As you can, Things We Lost in the Fire dominates the rankings. Double Negative may benefit from SOME recency bias. But you see a nonlinear chronology. While it’s true their earlier work is more rewarding, every album has its own gems.

Album	Highest Ranking Track
Things We Lost in the Fire	1
Ones and Sixes	2
Secret Name	3
C’mon	7
Double Negative	10
The Curtain Hits The Cast	15
Trust	16
The Great Destroyer	19
Long Division	26
Drums And Guns	33
I Could Live In Hope	43
The Invisible Way	46

Without further delay, here is my definitive rankings of every major album release Low song.

Ranking	Track	Album	Track Number
137	Pretty People	Drums And Guns	1
136	Sunshine	I Could Live In Hope	11
135	Dark	The Curtain Hits The Cast	12
134	Shots & Ladders	Trust	13
133	Landslide	Ones and Sixes	11
132	John Prine	Trust	9
131	Point of Disgust	Trust	12
130	Take Your Time	Drums And Guns	10
129	Into You	Ones and Sixes	6
128	La La Song	Trust	11
127	You See Everything	C’mon	2
126	Nightingale	C’mon	8
125	Little Argument With Myself	Trust	10
124	Coattails	The Curtain Hits The Cast	5
123	Spanish Translation	Ones and Sixes	3
122	Mom Says	The Curtain Hits The Cast	4
121	Down	I Could Live In Hope	8
120	Your Poison	Drums And Guns	9
119	Same	The Curtain Hits The Cast	10
118	On The Edge Of	The Great Destroyer	6
117	In the Drugs	Trust	7
116	Last Snowstorm of the Year	Trust	8
115	Belarus	Drums And Guns	2
114	Anon	The Curtain Hits The Cast	1
113	Kid in the Corner	Ones and Sixes	9
112	Standby	The Curtain Hits The Cast	6
111	Gentle	Ones and Sixes	1
110	The Lamb	Trust	6
109	Over The Ocean	The Curtain Hits The Cast	3
108	Waiting	The Invisible Way	5
107	Rope	I Could Live In Hope	10
106	Caroline	Long Division	8
105	Holy Ghost	The Invisible Way	4
104	$20.00	C’mon	$6.00
103	Home	Secret Name	12
102	Stars Gone Out	The Curtain Hits The Cast	9
101	Amethyst	The Invisible Way	2
100	Dragonfly	Drums And Guns	4
99	Clarence White	The Invisible Way	6
98	Mother	The Invisible Way	9
97	Majesty/Magic	C’mon	7
96	Step	The Great Destroyer	8
95	The Plan	The Curtain Hits The Cast	2
94	In Silence	Drums And Guns	11
93	Four Score	The Invisible Way	7
92	Murderer	Drums And Guns	12
91	To Our Knees	The Invisible Way	11
90	Drag	I Could Live In Hope	9
89	The Innocents	Ones and Sixes	8
88	Laugh	The Curtain Hits The Cast	7
87	Violence	Long Division	1
86	The Son, The Sun	Double Negative	7
85	Sea	I Could Live In Hope	7
84	When I Go Deaf	The Great Destroyer	9
83	Sandinista	Drums And Guns	5
82	Done	C’mon	4
81	DJ	Ones and Sixes	12
80	Dust on the Window	Drums And Guns	7
79	No Comprende	Ones and Sixes	2
78	Fear	I Could Live In Hope	2
77	Tonight	Trust	5
76	Cue The Strings	The Great Destroyer	7
75	Especially Me	C’mon	5
74	Death Of A Salesman	The Great Destroyer	12
73	Hatchet	Drums And Guns	8
72	Lies	Ones and Sixes	10
71	Something’s Turning Over	C’mon	10
70	Rome (Always in the Dark)	Double Negative	10
69	Violent Past	Drums And Guns	13
68	Pissing	The Great Destroyer	11
67	Time Is the Diamond	Trust	4
66	Everybody’s Song	The Great Destroyer	3
65	Cut	I Could Live In Hope	3
64	Candy Girl	Trust	3
63	Dancing and Fire	Double Negative	8
62	Walk Into The Sea	The Great Destroyer	13
61	(That’s How You Sing) Amazing Grace	Trust	1
60	On My Own	The Invisible Way	10
59	Plastic Cup	The Invisible Way	1
58	Don’t Understand	Secret Name	6
57	Poor Sucker	Double Negative	9
56	Slide	I Could Live In Hope	4
55	Starfire	Secret Name	2
54	Laser Beam	Things We Lost in the Fire	5
53	So Blue	The Invisible Way	3
52	Lullaby	I Could Live In Hope	6
51	Turn	Long Division	7
50	Monkey	The Great Destroyer	1
49	Lust	The Curtain Hits The Cast	8
48	Shame	Long Division	3
47	Missouri	Secret Name	5
46	Just Make It Stop	The Invisible Way	8
45	Lazy	I Could Live In Hope	5
44	Witches	C’mon	3
43	Words	I Could Live In Hope	1
42	I Remember	Secret Name	1
41	Tempest	Double Negative	4
40	Days Of…	Secret Name	10
39	Broadway (So Many People)	The Great Destroyer	10
38	Swingin’	Long Division	5
37	Whitetail	Things We Lost in the Fire	2
36	Throw Out The Line	Long Division	4
35	Always Fade	Drums And Guns	6
34	No End	Ones and Sixes	5
33	Breaker	Drums And Guns	3
32	Just Stand Back	The Great Destroyer	5
31	See-Through	Long Division	6
30	Always Up	Double Negative	5
29	Weight of Water	Secret Name	4
28	Try to Sleep	C’mon	1
27	Dinosaur Act	Things We Lost in the Fire	3
26	Below & Above	Long Division	2
25	Quorum	Double Negative	1
24	Embrace	Things We Lost in the Fire	7
23	Kind of Girl	Things We Lost in the Fire	9
22	Lion / Lamb	Secret Name	9
21	Disarray	Double Negative	11
20	Silver Rider	The Great Destroyer	4
19	California	The Great Destroyer	2
18	Sunflower	Things We Lost in the Fire	1
17	Dancing and Blood	Double Negative	2
16	Canada	Trust	2
15	Do You Know How To Waltz	The Curtain Hits The Cast	11
14	In Metal	Things We Lost in the Fire	13
13	Fly	Double Negative	3
12	Medicine Magazines	Things We Lost in the Fire	4
11	2-Step	Secret Name	3
10	Always Trying to Work It Out	Double Negative	6
9	Whore	Things We Lost in the Fire	8
8	Like a Forest	Things We Lost in the Fire	10
7	Nothing But Heart	C’mon	9
6	Congregation	Ones and Sixes	4
5	Immune	Secret Name	8
4	July	Things We Lost in the Fire	6
3	Soon	Secret Name	7
2	What Part of Me	Ones and Sixes	7
1	Closer	Things We Lost in the Fire	11