9 months after their last release, High Country, The Sword have brought out a companion piece entitled Low Country. It's basically a re-visitation of the songs from the previous album but they are delivered in a stripped down format. Presenting the songs in a different way not only shows the band are not afraid of experimenting and are able to pull their music back and focus on the subtleties of the music such as harmonies and textures.
The rocky electro vibes of High Country have now been tempered with literally a more country resonance. I guess outlaw folk would be an apt term. As with High Country, there is a distinct vintage quality to the album, the country style licks and folk feel hark back to bands like The Strawbs and other 70s prog folk bands. The songs about humanity, the world and the divine unknown also take us back to the carefree Woodstock days. Tracks like Ghost Eye, Seriously Mysterious and Dream Thieves really benefit from this re-imagining of the music.
The vocals haven't changed much and yet they still compliment the styles from both albums. It's best to look at these albums as both sides of the same coin rather than separate entities. Whilst they work with the same source material, the albums are decidedly different in tone and feel. However, when put together offer a flip side to an enjoyable and thoughtful album which translates to suit any genre.
Groupie Rating 3/5