''Smart Flesh'' is the third studio album by American
indie folk
Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music.
Characteristics
The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...
band
the Low Anthem, released on February 22, 2011 on
Bella Union
Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde.
History
After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...
in UK/Europe and
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...
in US. The majority of the album was recorded in an abandoned
pasta sauce factory in
Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,583 at the 2020 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the 23rd most densel ...
, near the band's hometown of
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
.
''Smart Flesh'' is the only album to feature multi-instrumentalist
Mat Davidson, who left the band during the album's promotional tour.
A numbered,
letterpress
Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...
printed version of the album was issued upon release, containing an additional disc with three "passable strays that missed the cut." The bonus track, "Dreams Can Chase You Down", is written by former member Dan Lefkowitz.
Background and recording
After extensive touring in support of the band's previous album, ''
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin'', the band set up a recording studio in an abandoned
pasta sauce factory, in their hometown,
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
. Jeff Prystowsky states that the band "set out to make a record in a natural space,
..a building that has its own kind of reverb, its own sound, a unique sound that we find beautiful."
The band stayed in the factory together for three months, with Prystowsky stating that "it wasn't cushy at all."
Ben Knox Miller noted that: "Obviously, there were personal tensions, you know? When you do anything intensely over a long period of time... it was like 3 months we were living in that place. This little place, as a family unit, whatever you want to call it. But yeah, we didn't picture that it would be that cold."
The environment of the factory ultimately dictated the album's overall aesthetic, with the band using different metals, woods and artifacts as percussive instruments. Prystowsky also notes that the album's emphasis on quieter songs is as a result of the recording space: "It just sounded muddy when you tried to play rowdy songs. It's not an acoustically treated room, and
fyou get a lot of drums and electric guitar,
hen
Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman.
Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to:
Places Norway
*Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...
everything is muddy and you can't hear the divisions, the timbres of the instruments. It had that kind of effect with some of those kinds of songs when we tried to play them in the factory building."
Prior to the album's release, Miller remarked that "a lot of songs died in that space that would have flourished elsewhere, for musical reasons more so than lyrical reasons."
According to Miller and Prystowsky, the band recorded around thirty songs in the factory. The unreleased tracks are currently being considered for release under an "alter-ego" band, Snake Wagon.
Following the recording sessions, the band travelled to
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
to mix the tracks with
Mike Mogis
Mike Mogis is an American producer/mixer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who owns ARC Studios (Another Recording Company) in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha. Mike, along with his brother A. J. Mogis, A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Stud ...
, of
Bright Eyes fame. Miller described the man as "a genius. He's like the man with the
Midas touch."
The band subsequently returned to the pasta sauce factory for the album's launch gig, in March 2011.
Track listing
''All songs written by The Low Anthem except where noted.''
# "Ghost Woman Blues"
(George Carter)
# "Apothecary Love"
# "Boeing 737"
# "Love and Altar"
# "Matter of Time"
# "Wire"
(Jocie Adams)
# "Burn"
# "Hey, All You Hippies!"
# "I'll Take Out Your Ashes"
# "Golden Cattle"
# "Smart Flesh"
Limited Edition bonus disc
# "Maybe So"
# "Vines"
# "Dreams Can Chase You Down"
(Dan Lefkowitz)
# "Daniel In the Lion's Den"
Personnel
The Low Anthem
*Ben Knox Miller
*Jeff Prystowsky
*Jocie Adams
*Mat Davidson
Additional musicians
*Ben Pilgrim - harmonium ("Smart Flesh")
*Anton Patzner - violin ("Boeing 737")
*Louis Patzner - cello ("Boeing 737")
*Robert Houllahan - flickering film ("Boeing 737")
Production personnel
*
The Low Anthem - producer
*Jesse Lautner - recording, mixing ("Matter of Time", "Burn" and "Hey, All You Hippies!")
*
Mike Mogis
Mike Mogis is an American producer/mixer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who owns ARC Studios (Another Recording Company) in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha. Mike, along with his brother A. J. Mogis, A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Stud ...
- mixing
*Dan Cardinal - recording ("Matter of Time", "Burn" and "Hey, All You Hippies!")
*Robert C. Ludwig - mastering
Artwork
*Alec Thibodeau - design
*Dan Wood - design
*DWRI Letterpress - printing
*Ryan Mastro - pasta sauce factory photographs
References
{{Authority control
2011 albums
Bella Union albums
The Low Anthem albums