An album's sound can be altered as much by the instrumentation as by the location where it is recorded. For its upcoming third album Smart Flesh, which is due Feb. 22, The Low Anthem decided to return to its home state of Rhode Island. Instead of going back to a traditional studio, however, the band instead set up inside a former pasta sauce factory in Providence.
That empty warehouse sound was also expanded by the band having microphones placed 20, 50 and 100 feet away from the musicians. The band had to take a "learn as you go" approach to recording in such a non-traditional venue, in combination with the fact that it was never more than around 50 degrees inside.
"The Charlie Darwin album was recorded in a basement," Jeff Prystowsky says by phone from a home in Charlotte. (Prystowsky and the band were passing through town shortly before Thanksgiving to visit a bandmate's relative.) "The reverb is unique to the new album. We tracked live with the four of us together. There's a particular sound that you hear thanks to the factory." I joke with Prystowsky that the album will forever be known as "the Pasta Sauce Sessions." He laughs and agrees.
The album is done as far as being mixed and mastered. They just have to approve the artwork before it's all ready. "We've already been waiting so long at this point," Prystowsky says of having a few more months before the album is released. "We were used to releasing an album every year. It feels like it's been a couple years since we released an album. We're already planning on the next one."
Prystowsky says the new songs are being well-received when performed on tour, so they're excited to get it in the hands of fans since the album has a different sonic feel to it. It's also the first album that Mat Davidson appears on.
"This album has a definite feel of a band playing together in a large, almost airplane hangar-sized room," Prystowsky says. "Otherwise, it's the same carefully-crafted songs — songwriting is always important to us."
The band already had the completed songs but were looking for a place that would become a home for the songs, he notes. A friend of the band had suggested the location, and when the band first walked in, they knew it would be both a challenge to record in as much as it would be an instrument in and of itself.
"When I listen to the album now, I can feel the factory," Prystowsky says. "The recordings we did there really stand out. We're releasing 11 to 14 songs, but we actually recorded some songs two or three times to have different versions. We're only releasing about one-third of what we recorded there. The record is just a snapshot of what we did there."
After the recording sessions were done at the pasta sauce factory, the band recorded a couple of songs in a Providence garage to see how things had changed. They had been on the road for the spring and summer and played most of the new songs live — they wanted to record in the fall to see if there was any difference. "It ended up meshing quite well," Prystowsky says. "We call the garage 'The Gator Pit' because they used to breed alligators and snakes and stuff there. I guess those are the 'Gator Pit Sessions.'"
Regardless of the location, The Low Anthem has continued to focus on its multi-instrument approach to its brand of folk. The band tries to keep its life in the studio completely separate from its live show. Once a song is written or recorded, they will then go back to try and figure out the best way to present it on stage.
"The week before we go out on a tour is always really interesting," Prystowsky says. "We sit down and say, well, we recorded all these songs, but what can we do with four sets of hands? You have to come up with some new ideas or completely change the song. Other times, you find different ways to create it through effects or a different instrument. We record for the studio, but when we go out live, we start from scratch. We don't want to be stuck with one arrangement."
THE LOW ANTHEM
Opening for Carolina Chocolate Drops. $17-$32. 8 p.m. Dec. 10. Neighborhood Theatre. www.neighborhoodtheatre.com