Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

9. LowDrums And Guns

I went to college in Minnesota and Low were a local band. That is kind of a magical thing, to discover a band and get to see them at your little college venue. You’re not sharing them with random 30-year-olds, it’s just you and other 19-year-olds, 15 of you in a little space. They had a song called ‘Words’ which was gorgeous, and then I just started with them chronologically and I just went through every record. I really had been a fan for years. A lot of their records have a few songs on them that just blow me away and I’ve listened to them many times. This record is so different from a lot of the earlier records. It’s so sparse. It isn’t as murky. I feel like there’s not as much reverb. There’s an incredible music video for ‘Breaker’ where Alan Sparhawk eats a whole chocolate cake. He binge eats a whole chocolate cake in two minutes, because the song’s very short, and he drinks a lot of milk, and it’s kind of distressing because you know that’s not fun for the body, but it’s so funny and fun to watch. Having seen them live a bunch of times that does affect how you fall in love with a record. I love that they’re a family band. I love how prickly Alan is. I’ve seen him play some shows where I don’t think he wanted to be there. I don’t think he was very happy, but it was still wonderful. I love their new record too. I would say in terms of a band with a guitarist they’re one of my favourite bands, and I will always listen to their music. They just captured my heart at a young age, and they haven’t left.

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