LOW PRAISE “Expectation(s)” C13 (self-released)


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