Alan Sparhawk has always been a prolific, protean musician: a restless soul eager to explore unfamiliar sonic and psychic terrain. Though he’s obviously (and justifiably) best-known for his thirty years as frontman of the legendary band Low, a look at Sparhawk’s many side projects across that same span of time shows him experimenting with everything from punk and funk to production work and improvisation. Low itself never settled for a set sound or approach. The band was always a collaboration – a conversation, a romance – between Sparhawk and his wife, Mimi Parker, who was the band’s co-founder, drummer, co-lead vocalist, and its blazing irreplaceable heart.
Parker passed away in 2022 after a long battle with cancer, and there is no question that White Roses, My God is a record born of grief. You can hear it in the title, as well as tracks such as ‘Heaven’, in which Sparhawk describes the afterlife, wrenchingly, as “a lonely place if you’re alone”. You can sense it too in Sparhawk’s decision to create this thing entirely on his own: every note, every lyric, every programmed beat. It would be reductive, even foolish, to see grief as the sole source or the final limit of this taut, brilliant, provocative and thrilling album, whose bold experimentation is powered by profound lyrics and propulsive beats. Independent Shops Exclusive Clear
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