Poor Low Praise – not only do they take on a
self-deprecating persona, but they also run the risk of consumers (like you and
me) reading their cassette title as “Low Expectation(s),” which is not the
title, nor the expectations. I admit, I had no expectations, not low ones. This
is my first interaction with Low Praise. The tape itself looks pretty cool –
the expectations certainly skewed up from “low.”
None of this is my fault, so let’s get past it.
The Oaklandish trio is a guitar/bass/drums outfit that certainly has its share
of angular post-punk records in their collection, also wiry indie ones from
East Coast to West, Midwest included. It’s like these dudes were in college in
the late 1980s or early 1990s or something and were warp zoned here through a
wormhole. Cross-country touring in a stinky van. Playing shows with Bitch
Magnet and Unwound and Q and Not U. Strangling guitar necks and riding crash
cymbals. “Expectation(s)” does all these things.
Raise yours.
Only a four-song EP? Not enough, gang. But a
perfect merch purch. These should sell out in no time.
--Ryan