Hey What

Hey What
Studio album by
Low
ReleasedSeptember 10, 2021
Genre
Length46:08
LabelSub Pop
ProducerBJ Burton
Low chronology
Double Negative
(2018) 		Hey What
(2021)
Singles from Hey What
  1. "Days Like These"
    Released: June 22, 2021[5]
  2. "Disappearing"
    Released: July 20, 2021[6]
  3. "More"
    Released: August 18, 2021[7]

Hey What (stylized in all uppercase) is the thirteenth and final studio album by Minnesota-based duo Low, released on September 10, 2021, through Sub Pop. It is their third recording in a row produced by BJ Burton,[8] building on the distorted sound of the band's previous album Double Negative (2018).[3] Burton and Hey What were nominated in the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical category at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[9] It is their only album as a duo of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, all earlier Low albums being recorded as a trio.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[10]
Metacritic84/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Beats Per Minute91%[13]
Clash9/10[14]
The Guardian[15]
Exclaim!8/10[16]
Loud and Quiet7/10[17]
Mojo[18]
Paste8.6/10[19]
Pitchfork8.4/10[20]
PopMatters7/10[3]
Uncut9/10[21]

Hey What was met with widespread critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 22 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[11]

Following Mimi Parker's death in 2022, Hey What, Low's de facto last album, has been called "a tribute to Mimi Parker— and a masterpiece at the end of the line".[22]

Accolades

[edit]
Hey What on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2021
31
[23]
Les Inrockuptibles Adrien Durand's Top 10 Albums of 2021
1
[24]
Arnaud Ducome's Top 10 Albums of 2021
1
Rémi Boiteux's Top 10 Albums of 2021
10
Valentin Gény's Top 10 Albums of 2021
3
NPR NPR Music's 50 Best Albums of 2021
21
[25]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2021
12
[26]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2021
5
[27]
The 31 Best Rock Albums of 2021 —
[28]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Low

Hey What track listing
No.TitleLength
1."White Horses"5:03
2."I Can Wait"4:02
3."All Night"5:14
4."Disappearing"3:32
5."Hey"7:41
6."Days Like These"5:20
7."There's a Comma After Still"1:51
8."Don't Walk Away"4:07
9."More"2:10
10."The Price You Pay (It Must Be Wearing Off)"7:08
Total length:46:08

Personnel

[edit]

Low

  • Mimi Parker – vocals, percussion
  • Alan Sparhawk – guitar, vocals

Technical

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Hey What
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] 75
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[31] 60
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[32] 27
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] 32
Irish Albums (OCC)[34] 44
Italian Albums (FIMI)[35] 89
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[36] 41
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[39] 23
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[40] 7

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Quick, RaeAnn (October 2, 2021). "Album Review: Low – Hey What". MXDWN. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Willems, Jasper (September 10, 2021). "Low on HEY WHAT: Hope in Unfamiliar Sound". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Britt, Thomas (September 8, 2021). "Low's HEY WHAT Could Use Some Drums". PopMatters. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Fischer, Reed (September 13, 2021). "Album of the Week: Low, Hey What". The Current. Minnesota Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (June 22, 2021). "Low: 'Days Like These' Track Review". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021.
  6. ^ Clarke, Patrick (July 20, 2021). "Low share gorgeous new single 'Disappearing'". NME. NME Networks. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Breathnach, Cillian (August 18, 2021). "Ahead of new album Hey What, Low release new single and video 'More'". Uncut. NME Networks. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021.
  8. ^ Sam Sodomsky (September 1, 2021). "Low Still Don't Sound Like Anyone Else". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Lawler, Christa (November 24, 2021). "Low's 'Hey What' gets Grammy nod | Duluth News Tribune". Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "Hey What by Low reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Hey What - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  12. ^ Mark Deming. "Hey What - Low - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  13. ^ Jasper Willems (September 10, 2021). "Album Review: Low - HEY WHAT". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Nick Roseblade (September 9, 2021). "Low - HEY WHAT". Clash Magazine. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  15. ^ Alexis Petridis (September 9, 2021). "Low: Hey What review – a magnificent redefinition of rock music". The Guardian. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  16. ^ Daniel Sylvester (September 9, 2021). "Low Remain at the Top of Their Creative Peak on 'HEY WHAT'". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  17. ^ Luke Cartledge (September 6, 2021). "Low - Hey What - Album Review - Loud and Quiet". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  18. ^ Keith Cameron. "Low – Hey What". Mojo. No. 335. p. 91. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021. Alt URL
  19. ^ Max Freedman (September 8, 2021). "Low: 'Hey What' Album Review - Paste". Paste. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  20. ^ Andy Cush (September 10, 2021). "Low: HEY WHAT Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  21. ^ Louis Pattison (September 10, 2021). "Low – Hey What". Uncut. No. 293. p. 18–19. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021. Alt URL
  22. ^ Knapman, Chris (November 26, 2022). "HEY WHAT: a tribute to Mimi Parker— and a masterpiece at the end of the line". Medium. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  23. ^ "The 50 best albums of 2021: 50-11". the Guardian. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "Découvrez le top 10 des albums de 2021 par nos critiques musiques" [Discover the top 10 albums of 2021 by our music critics]. Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Paris. December 28, 2021. Archived from the original on December 29, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  25. ^ "NPR Music's 50 Best Albums of 2021 (30-21)". NPR. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  26. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  27. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (December 7, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  28. ^ Corcoran, Nina (December 8, 2021). "The 31 Best Rock Albums of 2021". Lists & Guides. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Low – Hey What" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Low – Hey What" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Low – Hey What" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Low – Hey What" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  33. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Low – Hey What" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  34. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  35. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 37 (dal 10.9.2021 al 16.9.2021)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  36. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Low – Hey What". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  38. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Low – Hey What". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  39. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  40. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
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