The Low put an end to that ‘independent’ qualifier in 2018 by inking a deal with Warner Music Canada, which not only didn’t cause the sky to fall but led to the release of Shakespeare My Box!!…, a career-spanning vinyl retrospective. The sumptuously packaged set included all four studio albums, an extra record full of new material, previously unreleased or commercially unavailable tracks, demos, remixes and live cuts, plus a poster, stickers, hand-written lyric sheets and a beautiful full-colour booklet bursting at the seams with pics and ephemera from the Low’s plentiful archives.
That brings us to today, where the band (now featuring full time members McKenzie on lead guitar and The Weakerthans’ Greg Smith handling the bottom end) are about to unleash AgitPop, a bristling, buzzing collection of modern day protest songs that harken back to Hawkins’ earliest days as a writer of ‘capital P’ political tunes. Its 14 ridiculously hooky yet heartfelt cuts, produced by Grammy-winner David Bottrill (Tool, Muse, Smashing Pumpkins) and recorded at Toronto’s Union Sound Company with Chris Stringer and Darren McGill, serve as the most melodic manifesto since Nick Lowe penned “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?” in 1974. From Lowe to the Low; it’s (r)evolution, baby.
