I Could Live in Hope
| I Could Live In Hope | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Low | ||||
| Released | 5 December 1994 | |||
| Recorded | Autumn 1994 | |||
| Genre | Slowcore | |||
| Length | 57:05 | |||
| Label | Vernon Yard | |||
| Producer | Mark Kramer | |||
| Low chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Martin C. Strong | 7/10[2] |
| Music Story | [2] |
I Could Live In Hope is the debut studio album by American band Low, released in 1994 on Vernon Yard Recordings. A reaction to the abrasiveness of alternative rock in the early 1990s —when grunge had a reigning popularity—, Low "eschewed conventional songwriting in favour of mood and movement."[3][4] Influenced by Brian Eno and Joy Division, the band favored slow-paced compositions, a minimum of instrumentation and an economy of language; working with long-time producer and New York underground mainstay Mark Kramer.[1][4][5][6] Featuring an "unprecedent pace in the then-flowering underground,"[4] I Could Live in Hope help to birth the genre known as slowcore, that encompassed acts from Bedhead to Codeine throughout the 1990s.[5]
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to I Could Live in Hope is adapted from Acclaimed Music, except where otherwise noted.[2]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ned Raggett | United States | The Top 136 Albums of the Nineties | 1999 | 37 | ||
| Pitchfork Media | Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s | 1999 | 49 | |||
| Les Inrockuptibles | France | 50 Years of Rock'n'Roll | 2004 | * | ||
| Ondarock | Italy | Rock Milestones | — | * | ||
| Screenagers | Poland | Top 100 Albums of the 90s | 2005 | 40 | ||
| (*) designates lists that are unordered. | ||||||
Track listing
All tracks composed by Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker and John Nicols, except where indicated.
- "Words" – 5:45
- "Fear" – 2:12
- "Cut" – 5:43
- "Slide" – 3:46
- "Lazy" – 5:35
- "Lullaby" – 9:46
- "Sea" – 1:45
- "Down" – 7:24
- "Drag " – 5:11
- "Rope" – 6:11
- "Sunshine" – 2:59 (Oliver Hood; cover of You Are My Sunshine)
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of I Could Live in Hope.[7]
- Producer - Mark Kramer
- Producer assistant - Steve Watson
- Artwork - Low
- Inner sleeve photography - Gerree Small
- Low
- Alan Sparhawk - guitar, vocals
- Mimi Parker - percussion, vocals
- John Nichols - bass
References
- 1 2 Taylor, Ken. "Review: I Could Live in Hope - Low". Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- 1 2 3 Acclaimed Music – I Could Live in Hope. Acclaimed Music. Retrieved on February 14, 2016.
- ↑ Buckley, Peter (October 30, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 615. ISBN 978-1843531050.
- 1 2 3 Earles, Andrew (October 9, 2014). Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Voyageur Press. pp. 177–178. ISBN 978-0760346488.
- 1 2 Everhart, John (June 5, 2013). "Low Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ↑ Sprague, David (April 1, 1995). "Vernon Yard/Virgin Is Counting on Low's 'Long-Division'". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. p. 14. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ↑ Low (1994). I Could Live in Hope (Media notes). Vernon Yard Recordings.