“The building didn’t hold heat at all. It was too cold for fast chops and too cold to relax,” recalls Ben Knox Miller, who, with the rest of The Low Anthem, hunkered down in December of 2009 for a winter of recording in a cavernous, derelict pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, RI. Miller, with band-mates Jeff Prystowsky, Jocie Adams, and newest member, Mat Davidson, teamed up with engineer Jesse Lauter to construct a studio in the disused space. They played a wide variety of often unusual instruments, combining folk with blues, hymnals, barn-stompers and whispered meditations to create Smart Flesh, their third record. It will be released on February 22, 2011 by Nonesuch and Bella Union (UK, Europe). Smart Flesh was self-produced by the band, mixed largely by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk), and mastered by Bob Ludwig. The record features recordings of older tour staples “Ghost Woman Blues” and “Golden Cattle,” along with new songs such as “Love and Altar” and “Boeing 737.” Having toured for two years since their last album Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, the band had plenty of time to write songs, experiment with arrangements, and day-dream the scope of this recording project. What they had in mind was a massive undertaking. Ten days were spent hauling furniture, gear, carpet scraps, and cabling to prepare the 40,000 square feet of vacant factory to be both a home and a recording instrument for Smart Flesh—all that before a single note was played. Paranormal hitchhikers, taught highwires, aircraft, swelling tumors, whirring machinery, deserted highways, mannequins, cremation, and formaldehyde make up the language of Smart Flesh. The album’s heroes, if there be heroes, are wiremen and lovers—reckless dreamers turning vain contortions in the swill of death. Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, the band’s previous album, was recorded in January of 2008 in an empty summer cabin on Block Island, RI, and originally self-released by the band that September in true DIY style (the band handpainted and silkscreened all 2,000 of the first run of the CD packages). Despite having no distribution, booking agent, or publicist, Charlie Darwin was received enthusiastically and the band toured steadily on the strength of word of mouth. The independent success of this album led to record deals in the UK with Bella Union and in the US with Nonesuch, which re-released Oh My God, Charlie Darwin in June 2009. Growing steadily over the past two years, the band has toured with artists ranging from Iron & Wine to Emmylou Harris and The National to The Avett Brothers and Ray Lamontagne. They also played numerous festivals including Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Newport Folk, Lollapalloza, and Prospect Park’s Celebrate Brooklyn. At the end of 2009, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin was listed in the top of many music publications’ best of year lists and the band picked up MOJO’s Breakthrough Artist Honours award. |
Here is a list of shows at the most badassssss venue in town 
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