Low - The Exit Papers LP

Described by the band as "a soundtrack to an imaginary film," Low's 2000 release The Exit Papers is a work that's unusually low key and atmospheric, even by this band's very nuanced standards. Instrumental except for some wordless vocal passages, and often working without conventional melody or structure, The Exit Papers plays like an effort to push the boundaries of Low's experimental side, and the minimal melodic frameworks drifting over beds of ambient noise certainly take their traditional slowcore approach to a patiently unrelenting conclusion. The best moments in The Exit Papers work in the way much of Low's best music, creating an emotional pull from simple but evocative elements. However, "Untitled 4," which runs nearly 15 minutes, is a collage of feedback, distortion, and other guitar-based noises that goes on far too long for its own good. Going with the album's concept, perhaps it would have made more sense accompanying some long, tense scene in an offbeat independent thrill