Sad news, Milwaukee music fans: Soul Low, one of the city’s best bands, has called it quits. The writing has been on the wall for some time (band members moved to different parts of the country last year), but a Facebook post on Wednesday made it official:
good morning soul nation,
this is a hard post to write but nonetheless is one that comes with a sense of comfort to be written and released.
the four boys of soul low have decided it’s time to put this project to bed.
the last year has been quiet, as a lot of y’all have noticed and pointed out. in 2017 sam moved to brooklyn and jake & sean moved to minneapolis. for a while we considered the possibility of being a long distance band, but we feel at this point it’s better to move on.
soul low was born in high school from an instinct to create. we wrote incessantly, toured whenever our lives allowed us to leave the city, collaborated with our friends & folks we looked up to, and always worked to do shit that was important to us. nine years later, we’ve cultivated an audience that has allowed us to try and experiment as our tastes evolved which has been a fucking dream.
we’re beyond thankful to every band, venue, promoter, and person that’s put us on across the country. we’ve seen and done far more than our 16 year old selves could have imagined and for that we’re so fucking appreciative.
thank you for nine years of soul low. thank you for caring. we’re some lucky boys. we have a few more times to see y’all. til then.
xoxo,
sam, jake, sean, charlie
Bummer. Still, Soul Low leaves behind a wealth of terrific music, from 2013’s classic UNEASY to 2017’s triumphant Cheer Up. Here’s how we summed up the latter album:
But maybe that’s part of Cheer Up‘s theme, too. Life is full of moments of darkness and despair, but it moves on. The pains of one generation become the passed-down tales of another. Still, for listeners of a certain age, it’s worth revisiting those dark times, remembering what it’s like to be young and on-edge, and hopefully sighing in relief that you made it out alive. “I’ve got a bad set of moods and I think it’s gonna be awhile ’til they move,” goes the chorus of “Bad Set Of Moods.” Likewise, the pleasures and anxieties of Cheer Up aren’t likely to leave your head anytime soon.
Listen to all of Soul Low’s music here. So long, boys, and thank YOU for caring.
Oh yeah: Back when Milwaukee Record launched in 2014, Soul Low starred in the sole installment of our ill-fated “Prop-A-Ganza” video series. Good (and spooky) times!