Low

Brandon Flowers may have usurped them both to become indie rock’s best known Mormon, but Low’s central members, Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk, still reign supreme in the art of making music that sounds like a slow-motion replay of a pin dropping. For album number eight, the Minnesotans appear to have raided their long-time touring pals Radiohead’s old equipment cupboard to supplement their famously stark sound. The glitchy beats that underpin ‘Hatchet’ and the hauntingly synthetic ambience of ‘Take Your Time’, for example, prove that the trio have discovered a few new sonic tricks, but it’s the celestial duel-vocals of Parker and Sparhawk (who are also married with children) which continue to ensure that Low always reach such beautiful highs.

Hardeep Phull