The Curtain Hits the Cast by Low

The Curtain Hits the Cast, Low's third album, came out on Vernon Yard Recordings in 1996 with Steve Fisk producing, and it finds the Duluth, Minnesota trio still playing slower and quieter than anyone thought a rock band could get away with. Husband and wife Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker lean their voices together in hushed harmony, Sparhawk's guitar rings out into empty space, and Zak Sally's bass moves like it's wading through snow. It's the slowcore sound they helped pioneer, and even the sleeve makes the point: a photograph of nearly all of Parker's bare-bones drum kit.

It closed a chapter. Once the record was out, their run on a major label's money was over and they moved to Kranky. "Lust" also turned up around then on Indie Rock Flea Market, a four-way split single pressed on clear green vinyl, and two tracks found only on the vinyl edition, "Prisoner" and "Tomorrow One", resurfaced in 2004 on the rarities box A Lifetime of Temporary Relief.

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