Retribution Gospel Choir - 2
For Alan Sparhawk’s second outing in his Retribution Gospel Choir incarnation it seems that upon entering the studio he must have said to the other band members ‘Ok boys, this time we’re going to give it some pig’. ‘2’ is still recognisably Sparhawk, that voice and guitar sound are firmly in place but this record has a damn sight more grunt than its predecessor and most of Low’s esteemed output.
Opener ‘Hide it Away’ sets the mood with a driving rhythm and huge, soaring chorus. This is representative of most of the album, there is a joy and a release here that is not found in much of Sparhawk’s previous work. It seems that in getting down and dirty Alan has been able to exorcise some of the demons that have plagued him, and whilst those demons have helped him create a body of work with Low that is unparalleled, is fantastic to hear him cut loose and sound like he’s enjoying it.
No more is this as evident than on the sequence of ‘Your Bird’, the interlude of ‘’68 Comeback’ and then ‘Workin’ Hard’, these are proper rock songs, with swagger and balls, they creep in to the listeners mind and force their hand to reach out for that volume knob and crank it up. In short, they rock.
It is hard to seperate what is going on here from Low entirely and listening to some of the tracks here and it's difficult not think that the addition of Mimi would not improve things a tad, ‘Poor Man’s Daughter’ is one such composition that might have been better explored in the context of Low rather than here as is ‘Bless Us All’, but he more than makes up for it in other places. For example, the moment when ‘Something’s Going To Break’ resolves from the scratchy, analogue, recorded-on-an-answermachine intro and thumps in with the full bass, drums and guitar is heart-stopping and utterly exquisite.
The final point of note, and perhaps the highlight of the whole piece, is ‘Electric Guitar’. It does what it says on the tin. Sparhawk gives full vent, over eight thrilling minutes, to the blistering, expressive, guitar hero side of his personality and it is magnificent.
In all, this is a stripped down, emotive, joyous and exhilarating album that only adds to the growing body of evidence that Alan Sparhawk is one of the foremost songsmiths of our times.
Top Tracks: 'Your Bird', 'Electric Guitar'.
Released February 02 on Sub Pop