Lowly
Heba
Release Date: Feb 10, 2017
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Record label: Bella Union
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Album Review: Heba by Lowly
Excellent, Based on 6 Critics
Based on rating 8.5/10
The Danish five-piece introduced themselves with the blissfully anthemic "Daydreamers" and followed it up in 2015 with the Sink Way Into Me EP. The latter's lead track "Fire", like "Daydreamers", was a kinetic rush of energy married to a vividly panoramic arrangement and while both songs showed tremendous potential, neither are included here. The reason for that is simple; Heba's eleven songs are, amazingly, a giant leap forward.
Based on rating 8/10
As promising as Lowly's 2015 debut EP Sink Way into Me was, it doesn't prepare listeners for the leap the band makes on its first full-length. Heba is equal parts art and heart, full of experimental pop that makes the most of Lowly's technical skill and emotional pull. The bandmembers met while studying at the Royal Music Academy in Aarhus, Denmark, and they use their formal training to give scope and shape to Heba's ambitions.
Based on rating 8/10
Musicians that hail from the Nordic countries are often saddled with the expectation that they make grandiose, ethereal and expansive music. Lowly, a new five-piece from Denmark, met at art school in Aarnhus - not the most rural or isolated part of Scandinavia by any means. Nevertheless, hearing the opening ascending synths, wide-open female vocals and plenty of atmospheric additions on the first track 'Still Life', you're immediately transported to an iceberg, slowly drifting out in the freezing ocean.
Based on rating 8/10
Heba, the debut album from Lowly, arrives described as "noise pop”, a compound that can take many different forms involving some combination of sonic pleasure and anxiety. Forms like Dan Friel's Life (2015), coarse ear candy that cannot be wrung from the mind once heard. Kiiara's "Gold," from the same year, with its chorus that makes all of life feel chopped and screwed.
Based on rating 7.8/10
When Lowly first appeared with a string of singles in 2014, the Danish five-piece's proficiency with atmospheres was clear. Those singles, along with an EP the following year, showcased the band's affinity for soaking its songs in heavy reverb. Naturally, Lowly's music hearkened back to previous generations of dream pop, shoegaze, and even the Beach Boys recording vocals in a swimming pool.
Opinion: Very Good
Danish quintet Lowly unveil their debut album, 'Heba' -- a sensual and mature debut filled with mesmerising pop tunes. Opening with the dreamy 'Still Life', Lowly create a comforting momentum that's a taste of what is to come. Their spacious pop songs are soaring, creating a vast and fairytale-like soundscape. With their subtle instrumentation, permeating synths and held-back percussion, the tunes mainly centred around the radiant vocals of Nanna Schannong and Soffie Viemose.
'Heba'
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