The Great Destroyer is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on January 25, 2005, as their first recording on Sub Pop Records.[1]

The Great Destroyer
Studio album by Low
Released	January 25, 2005 (2005-01-25)
Recorded	May 3 – September 27, 2004
Studio	Tarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, New York, United States
Genre	Slowcore
Length	52:48
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	Dave Fridmann Low
Low chronology
Trust (2002) The Great Destroyer (2005) Drums and Guns (2007)

"California", a song about Sparhawk's mother, was released as the album's first single, backed with a demo of "Cue the Strings".[2] A remix EP of "Monkey", entitled "Tonight the Monkeys Die", soon followed.[3] Music videos were created for both.[2][3]

The title of the album (as well as the song "Silver Rider") is taken from the story within the album art.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[7]
The Guardian	[8]
Mojo	[9]
NME	8/10[10]
Pitchfork	5.5/10[11]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Spin	A−[14]

The Great Destroyer received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 34 reviews. The site named it the 46th-best reviewed album of 2005.[5]

Track listing

All songs written by Mimi Parker, Zak Sally, and Alan Sparhawk

1. "Monkey" – 4:19
2. "California" – 3:23
3. "Everybody's Song" – 3:55
4. "Silver Rider" – 5:03
5. "Just Stand Back" – 3:04
6. "On the Edge Of" – 3:49
7. "Cue the Strings" – 3:30
8. "Step" – 3:18
9. "When I Go Deaf" – 4:41
10. "Broadway (So Many People)" – 7:14
11. "Pissing" – 5:08
12. "Death of a Salesman" – 2:28
13. "Walk into the Sea" – 2:56

Personnel

Low

• Mimi Parker – percussion, vocals, production, mixing
• Zak Sally – bass guitar, production, mixing, painting, illustrations
• Alan Sparhawk – guitar, vocals, production, mixing

Additional personnel

• Gerry Beckley – backing vocals on "Everybody's Song"
• Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound
• Dave Fridmann – production, mixing, keyboards on "California", "Everybody's Song", "Step", and "Broadway (So Many People)"
• Tom Herbers – engineering
• Jeff Kleinsmith – layout
• Hollis Mae Sparhawk – vocals on "Step", photography

Charts

References

External links

• The Great Destroyer at Discogs (list of releases)
• The Great Destroyer at MusicBrainz (list of releases)