{"product_id":"low-life-from-squats-to-lots-the-agony-and-xtc-of-low-life-vinyl-lp-1","title":"Low Life - From Squats To Lots: The Agony And XTC Of Low Life, Vinyl LP","description":"\u003ch2 class=\"MdRemovedH1\"\u003eLow Life - From Squats To Lots: The Agony And XTC Of Low Life, Vinyl LP\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"123\" data-start=\"110\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE BAND\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong data-end=\"136\" data-start=\"124\"\u003eLow Life\u003c\/strong\u003e are a rock band from Sydney, Australia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"195\" data-start=\"180\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE RECORD\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eLow Life’s 3rd LP is titled:\u003cbr data-end=\"227\" data-start=\"224\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-end=\"285\" data-start=\"227\"\u003eFrom Squats to Lots: The Agony and the XTC of Low Life\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr data-end=\"292\" data-start=\"289\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"350\" data-start=\"294\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNOTES ON HOW TO LISTEN TO \u003cem data-end=\"350\" data-start=\"323\"\u003eAGONY AND XTC OF LOW LIFE\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col data-end=\"3323\" data-start=\"352\"\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"512\" data-start=\"352\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"512\" data-start=\"355\"\u003eSome records hit you with an instant impression of timeless brilliance. Low Life’s \u003cem data-end=\"447\" data-start=\"438\"\u003eDogging\u003c\/em\u003e is one of those—what the wise might call “an instant classic.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"746\" data-start=\"513\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"746\" data-start=\"516\"\u003e\u003cem data-end=\"572\" data-start=\"516\"\u003eFrom Squats to Lots: The Agony and the XTC of Low Life\u003c\/em\u003e is more like their second album, \u003cem data-end=\"618\" data-start=\"606\"\u003eDowner Edn\u003c\/em\u003e (read: Edition). It’s a little more withdrawn, a little more textured. Complex. Rich. You’re going to need some time with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"900\" data-start=\"747\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"900\" data-start=\"750\"\u003eSome records show, some grow. Low Life have done both. This one is a grower—spend time with it. It has a nuanced flavour. Don’t guzzle. Sip. Savour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"1311\" data-start=\"901\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1311\" data-start=\"904\"\u003eSip it, and sense the recurring brilliance of Mitch Tolman’s lyrics, exploring the familiar territory of gutter life, lad life, punk life, low life. The dirge: disgust and shame in white Australia, council housing, bills piled high, substance abuse and rehabilitation. The fallen lads and lasses who stood too close to the flame. Loss and loneliness. From squats to lots. An un-Australian gutter symphony.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"1499\" data-start=\"1312\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1499\" data-start=\"1315\"\u003eThere is a celebration of resilience—a central theme of this record. In times like ours, \u003cem data-end=\"1417\" data-start=\"1404\"\u003eAgony \u0026amp; XTC\u003c\/em\u003e is necessary. Low times come through, but if you’re low, they won’t get to you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"1668\" data-start=\"1500\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1668\" data-start=\"1503\"\u003eIggy Pop’s Bowie-produced studio rock masterpieces, \u003cem data-end=\"1566\" data-start=\"1555\"\u003eThe Idiot\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-end=\"1586\" data-start=\"1571\"\u003eLust For Life\u003c\/em\u003e, are important reference points for Low Life’s third album. Here comes success!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"1848\" data-start=\"1669\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1848\" data-start=\"1672\"\u003e\u003cem data-end=\"1695\" data-start=\"1672\"\u003eThe Agony and Ecstasy\u003c\/em\u003e is a 1985 novel by Irving Stone about the life of Michelangelo. Stone also wrote \u003cem data-end=\"1792\" data-start=\"1777\"\u003eLust For Life\u003c\/em\u003e about Vincent Van Gogh. This synchronicity hits hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"2059\" data-start=\"1849\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2059\" data-start=\"1852\"\u003eIggy and the Stooges are a safe reference for Low Life (and all good rock music). But solo Iggy, like \u003cem data-end=\"1969\" data-start=\"1954\"\u003eLust For Life\u003c\/em\u003e, is a closer reference for this particular incarnation of Low Life: studio rock albums.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"2237\" data-start=\"2060\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2237\" data-start=\"2063\"\u003eBowie later called this period of his life profoundly nihilistic. Iggy saw it as the period that saved him from an early grave. This confrontation is part of Low Life lore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"2470\" data-start=\"2238\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2470\" data-start=\"2242\"\u003eThere’s something about this era of Bowie that resonates with Low Life’s new album, particularly the \u003cem data-end=\"2348\" data-start=\"2343\"\u003eLow\u003c\/em\u003e. Producer and studio boss Mickey Grossman has an ear for the Low—he has carved out a little statue of David right here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"2722\" data-start=\"2471\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2722\" data-start=\"2475\"\u003eMickey’s ears have shaped some of the best of Sydney’s music, most notably Oily Boys’ \u003cem data-end=\"2578\" data-start=\"2561\"\u003eCro Memory Grin\u003c\/em\u003e. A great companion record—listen to \u003cem data-end=\"2628\" data-start=\"2615\"\u003eAgony \u0026amp; XTC\u003c\/em\u003e after Oily Boys. Not on an empty stomach, and don’t operate heavy machinery while doing so.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"2911\" data-start=\"2723\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2911\" data-start=\"2727\"\u003eThe relationship between Low Life and Sydney hardcore should not be understated—but it also shouldn’t dictate how you listen to \u003cem data-end=\"2868\" data-start=\"2855\"\u003eAgony \u0026amp; XTC\u003c\/em\u003e. This is not austere, disciplined music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"3323\" data-start=\"2912\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"3323\" data-start=\"2916\"\u003eThink: if Poison Idea were given the kind of studio time and budget as Happy Mondays. You wouldn’t play it to a teenager—it’s not for children. It’s a mature flavour, for adults who have faced failure, hardship, medical bills, disappointed family members, betrayed lovers, police brutality, detoxing, drying out, humiliation, decay, loss—and yet endure. Low Life are still here, and they’re going nowhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003chr data-end=\"3328\" data-start=\"3325\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"3390\" data-start=\"3330\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNOTES ON HOW NOT TO LISTEN TO \u003cem data-end=\"3390\" data-start=\"3363\"\u003eAGONY AND XTC OF LOW LIFE\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col data-end=\"4389\" data-start=\"3392\"\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"3738\" data-start=\"3392\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"3738\" data-start=\"3395\"\u003eDon’t think of shoe-gaze. It implies a safe passage to ‘90s reminiscence, a vogue style of our time—but nothing to do with Low Life. Low Life style is always of its time. Agony \u0026amp; XTC carries the weight of albums like My Bloody Valentine’s \u003cem data-end=\"3644\" data-start=\"3634\"\u003eLoveless\u003c\/em\u003e and Slowdive’s \u003cem data-end=\"3670\" data-start=\"3660\"\u003eSouvlaki\u003c\/em\u003e: records laboured over after the songs were written and recorded.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"3937\" data-start=\"3739\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"3937\" data-start=\"3742\"\u003eThese are “studio albums,” as opposed to albums built in the heat of live performance. 90s studio albums might be called shoe-gaze by some journalists, but we know better than to use that word.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"4184\" data-start=\"3938\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"4184\" data-start=\"3941\"\u003eStudio albums are excessive and, at the same time, empty. \u003cem data-end=\"4012\" data-start=\"3999\"\u003eAgony \u0026amp; XTC\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem data-end=\"4024\" data-start=\"4014\"\u003eLoveless\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem data-end=\"4036\" data-start=\"4026\"\u003eSouvlaki\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem data-end=\"4047\" data-start=\"4038\"\u003eRumours\u003c\/em\u003e: excessive! Empty! This isn’t “Low Lite” or soft. Low Life can make an overproduced studio rock album without labels. Don’t look back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"4389\" data-start=\"4185\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"4389\" data-start=\"4188\"\u003eLose the distasteful labels—“shoe-gaze,” “rehab rock,” “stab,” “guitar OD overdrive,” “Western Sydney wonder.” Words can die. Kill ‘em all. A low life was once called a vagabond. Who uses that today?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\u003c\/ol\u003e","brand":"Lulus Sonic Disc Club","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48910180581569,"sku":null,"price":38.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1407\/4970\/files\/low-life-from-squats-to-lots-the-agony-and-xtc-of-low-life-vinyl.jpg?v=1770938659","url":"https:\/\/hathillrecords.com.au\/products\/low-life-from-squats-to-lots-the-agony-and-xtc-of-low-life-vinyl-lp-1","provider":"Hat Hill Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}