The long tenured slowcore Minnesota Mormons, or Low as they are more formally known, are back with their Sub Pop debut The Great Destroyer. Great Destroyer will surely polarize long time fans of Low because mega producer Dave Fridmann, known for production that is anything but hands-off or slowcore, has his fingerprints all over Great Destroyer. The album has moments of string arrangements, vocals that are up front and personal, and soaring harmonies; pretty much everything Low "isn't" known for.

Looking at this album objectively though, Great Destroyer has many excellent moments that I don't think Low could have ever created without the help of someone like Fridmann. "California" and "Just Stand Back" are soaring pop gems. "Silver Rider" and "On The Edge Of" show just how far Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker's intertwining vocals have come after all these years. Parker even sounds eerily like Aimee Mann at times, so much so that I would have thought it was her if I wasn't familiar with Parker's work after all these years. "Cue The Strings" almost sounds like Low's attempt at a Righteous Brothers type ballad, while "Pissing" and "When I Go Deaf" are the two tracks that should keep longtime Low fans happy.

Unfortunately, not all of The Great Destroyer works. "Everybody's Song" and "Step" feel very half-baked, which is strange for a Fridmann product, famous as he is for labored perfection. Also, the seven minute monotony of "Broadway (So Many People)" is difficult to sit all the way through.

Overall though, The Great Destroyer pleases more often than it disappoints. If you've never heard of Low, or have never really given them a chance, The Great Destroyer is a great place to start. Though it's something of a departure from the norm, it's certainly their most accessible record thus far.