Retribution Gospel Choir Look To Britney Spears Connection For Aggression

Fans of Minnesota's Low probably never expected they'd see a day when there was only one degree of separation between Alan Sparhawk, the trio's frontman, and Britney Spears.

Thanks to Sparhawk's (kinda) new outfit, Retribution Gospel Choir — which also includes drummer Eric Pollard and Low's Steve Garrington on bass — everyone's favourite slowcorist is also now in the same company as Paris Hilton.

The pop connection doesn't end there. Up-and-coming producer Matt Beckley (Vanessa Hudgens, Avril Lavigne) produced Retribution Gospel Choir's new album, 2.

"I've known Matthew for a number of years; his father is one of the members of the band America," explains Sparhawk. "He lives in L.A. and he's had this quiet career of being a pitch corrector and engineer for a lot of these big projects, like Britney Spears and Maroon 5...

"I met him years ago, before I knew what his job was... I thought it would be interesting to see what he'd do with some rock tracks."

Retribution Gospel Choir's self-titled debut certainly wasn't hurting from the lack of glamorous pop sheen, but what Beckley injected some much-needed energy into the trio's already-polished drone rock on album two. That shift, says Sparhawk, brought his band's disc sound in line with their live sound.

"The first record, we thought, had a sort of mellow fuzz to it. That might have a lot to do with Mark Kozelek mixing it; he likes the warm, vinyl, '70s, smooth thing.

"It's a certain sound and it worked fine for us, but after that first record, and after we'd played a bunch of shows, we realized we could be a little more aggressive and dynamic. It just seemed to be gravitating towards a more and more intense direction. That was obviously something we wanted to capture on this record."

In line with their aggressive new persona, Retribution Gospel Choir have planned a body-breaking three month tour around the world to show off their new wares. With these kinds of excursions in the works, one wouldn't be surprised to hear there isn't much time for Low these days, but Sparhawk does still plan to get back to main gig at some point.

"We'll go do this tour, and if it goes well, we'll probably have some more tours to do later in the year," he says. "If not, we'll probably take a little time and work on some Low stuff... We've had a pile of songs we've been working on and we're still writing some more. I imagine by summer we'll be starting to work on that."

Here's where you can find Retribution Gospel Choir in the coming months:

Jan. 21 Toledo, OH @ Frankie's
Jan. 22 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
Jan. 23 Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Cafe
Jan. 25 Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel
Jan. 26 Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
Jan. 27 Milford, CT @ Daniel Street
Jan. 28 Allston, MA @ Great Scott
Feb. 1 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Feb. 2 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall
Feb. 3 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
Feb. 4 Washington DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
Feb. 5 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
Feb. 6 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Feb. 8 Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room
Feb. 9 Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry's
Feb. 10 Houston, TX @ The Meridian
Feb. 11 Austin, TX @ Stubbs BBQ
Feb. 12 Dallas, TX @ The Cavern
Feb. 13 Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Cafe
Feb. 15 Little Rock, AK @ Sticky Fingerz
Feb. 16 St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
Feb. 18 Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club
Feb. 19 Chicago, IL @ The Hideout
Feb. 20 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
Mar. 10 Sheffield, England @ The Grapes
Mar. 11 Manchester, England @ Ruby Lounge
Mar. 12 Glasgow, Scotland @ Captain's Rest
Mar. 13 Dublin, Ireland @ Whelans
Mar. 15 London, England @ Cargo
Mar. 16 Antwerp, Belguiim @ Trix
Mar. 17 Amsterdam, Holland @ Paradiso
Mar. 18 Paris, France @ Point Ephemere
Mar. 19 Kootrijk, Belguim @ De Kreun
Mar. 20 Koln, Germany @ MTC
Mar. 22 Berlin, Germany @ Magnet Club
Mar. 24 Oslo, Norway @ Bla
Mar. 25 Gothenburg, Sweden @ Pusterviksbaren/Club Woody West
Mar. 26 Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser
Mar. 27 Umea, Sweden @ Umea Open Festival
April 6 Vancouver, BC @ Media Club
April 7 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
April 8 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
April 10 Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place
April 12 Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar
April 13 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
April 14 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
April 17 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge