Double Negative is the twelfth studio album by Low, released by Sub Pop on September 14, 2018. It is the band's final album to feature bass guitarist Steve Garrington, and their second to be produced by BJ Burton after Ones and Sixes (2015).
Critical reception
On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Double Negative has an average score of 86 based on 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing in Pitchforks list of the best albums of 2018, Marc Hogan said that "static prevails and flickering tones are almost untraceable to the instruments that made them," and that this sound "captured [2018's] pervasive dread like nothing else." Alexis Petridis, in The Guardian's summary of the best albums of 2018, wrote "[I]n a world of predictable political music it seems unprecedented. That's partly because you don't expect a band to make their masterpiece 25 years into their career [...]. But it's mostly because, for all the vague precursors you could throw its way - from My Bloody Valentine to Radiohead's Kid A - Double Negative didn't sound like anything else, in Low's back catalogue or beyond."
Accolades Publication Accolade RankNPR The 50 Best Albums of 2018 17BrooklynVegan Top 50 Albums of 2018 2Uncut Uncut's Best New Albums of 2018 1Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2018 9 Vulture The 15 Best Albums of 2018 2The Quietus100 Best Albums of 2018 8StereogumThe 50 Best Albums of 2018 8The WireReleases of the Year 1–50 10 PitchforkThe 50 Best Albums of 2018 8Pitchfork The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s 96Tiny Mix TapesFavorite 50 music releases 7The Guardian The 50 best albums of 2018 9
Track listing
Personnel Low Steve Garrington – bass guitar Mimi Parker – vocals, percussion Alan Sparhawk – guitar, vocals
Additional musicians Maaika van der Linde – bass flute on "Always Up"
Technical Brett Bullion – assistant engineering BJ Burton – recording, mixing, mastering Zach Hanson – assistant engineering
Artwork David Kramer – editing assistance, design Peter Liversidge – artwork, photos
Charts Chart (2018) Peak position Australian Digital Albums (ARIA) 41 Italian Albums (FIMI) 90 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 23
References