Sheffield act Low Duo is two brothers (Aside: I like brother-duos). Their minimalist approach to the darker side of British folk is absolutely shoving me a little left of center; this has continued through two spins of The EP of Fear and Failure. The band has picked up a little press, particularly as The Guardian's "New Band of the Day," and also garnered some buzz via myspace (RIP) as a featured artist. Accolades aside, this shit is good. Imagine stripping down Okkervil River of all its bombastic parts and leaving Will Sheff singing alongside a softly fingerpicked guitar. Well, that's only sort of what this is like. The Greenwoods sort of look at silence as a precious canvas and only cover it partly with sound. Take away pop melodies and infuse them with some strikingly intense and personal vocal arrangements, constantly waxing and waning behind a similarly working guitar strum. That's a better descriptor. Other tracks pack enough vocal energy to fill an arena; when you listen, you'll, at times, forget it is just a clean-charged acoustic and a set of pipes. You can listen to the entire EP by visiting Low Duo's Soundcloud site, and I've also got the band's free offering, "No Happier," below. This particular track kind of wobbles back and forth between minimally presented quietude and rupturing emotion (as much as two dudes with one guitar can muster). Check out a couple of vids below the track, as well. For any folk fans that also dabble in Brit-pop, this is your very, very lucky day.
