Information
Low Red Land is a three piece comprised of long time friends Ben Thorne (bass and vocals), Neil Thompson (guitar and vocals), and Mark DeVito (drums). They met in New York while in college and later moved to Boston to play in a now defunct band. After a few years they split from their old band, took a chance, and moved to San Francisco; a town that is known for a million things, none of which include a particular affinity toward anything even resembling a twang. But that hasn’t mattered much. Since their arrival to the city they have found a great deal of inspiration, not to mention fans.
Low Red Land have created a sound that is quite unique, yet gratifying and familiar. They merge layers of rock, folk, country, and hardcore to create songs that are intensely dynamic. Their lyrics have been described as “subtly penned protest songs,” but these protests are personal while still being poignant. The band, however, won’t tell you any of this. The guys of Low Red Land prefer to just say, “Come see us play a show. We are awesome.” Their consistently growing and ever loyal fan base seems to agree with them. They have been criss-crossing our nations highways for the past two years with great dedication, collecting numerous rave live reviews and drawing in new fans at every stop.
(Band bio by Amanda McCabe.)
Here are a few of the things people are saying about Low Red Land:
- [Low Red Land's] Dog’s Hymns is more than a collection of songs; it’s an entire story, setting and mood spread over 11 tracks. The album manages to pick you up, throw you down and even dust you off and get you going again. It’s an album that gets under your skin and in your head and you love it for that. - PunkNews.org
- This trio stirs indie rock’s dull roots, layering sounds from a Chinese menu of influences without losing focus. - Spin.com
- A very full-sounding three-piece outfit from California, their slower songs sound like the Weakerthans’ faster jams and their faster songs rip with the passion of ever Polyvinyl band piled into a single broken-down tour van. Guitars bubble quietly and then leap into action, cutting through the songs like a razor blade, and the bass ripples smoothly in the mix for a sound that they can definitely call their own. - Tony Weinbender, founder of No Idea Records and The Fest
- This SF-based trio are by far one of the best local live acts and their energy and raw passion transfers nicely into album form. Go see them now before they begin opening for Guns-N-Roses…or something equally as, um, fortuitous.- Lynne Angel for SF Station
- [Low Red Land] has recently been all over the local indie radar. Despite this band’s ability to play heartbreakingly beautiful acoustic sets, their electrified show gets quite raucous. The new album “Dog’s Hymns” is a breathtaking combination of folky lyrics and phrasing over driving, distorted and sometimes feedback-laden guitars. Vocalists Neil Thompson and Ben Thorne are not afraid to tear their vocal chords, whether it’s in unison or in harmony. The song topics Low Red Land chooses are also quite uncharacteristic of their noisy indie or alternative counterparts. Instead of bedroom love songs and teenage angst, the band sings poetic tunes of gunfighters and ancestry. - KQED San Francisco
- I first heard Low Red Land on the Dragon Slayers Vol. 2 comp put out by Thread Productions. There isn’t a bad song on that disc, but Low Red Land’s stuck out in my mind because their song, “West Texas,” is named after my home state. And also because the guitars and vocals would stay in my head long after the disc stopped spinning. Their live show was everything I’d expected: Loud, swelling guitars and desperately earnest, often shouted vocals. Indie punk and hardcore riffs atop driving rhythms. Sheer blasts of echoy guitar noise. It’s kinda like Fugazi meets post-rock, if you will. But a surprise was in store at the end of the night, when the band closed their set with a quiet, all-acoustic number on banjo, guitar, and accordion. [Thompson and Thorne] didn’t sing into the mics, either, instead letting [their] vocal chords provide their own amplification, just as the other instruments were doing. It was a brilliant way to end the show, demonstrating a completely different side to the band’s talents…Whether they’re electrified or not, the Low Red Land live experience will amply reward your attendance. - Wire Tap Music
- …Like a posse of pissed-off high-school history teachers armed with amps and calling [out] lies cloaked in lore, the trio weaves earnest lessons into brutal roots-laced rock worthy of beer-drenched basements, outdoor barbecues, and the odd taqueria. - The Onion AV Club
