Formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 2018 out of a blossoming high school friendship between Olivia Osby and Avshalom Weinberg, Lowertown explores the complexities of emotions that I can only describe as “oh my god I’m growing up and everything is changing and I can’t stop thinking about my childhood best friends.” While they describe their genre as indie/alternative, Lowertown stands out from the crowd through their intensely unique blend of production techniques, combining elements of and drawing inspiration from folk, electronica, and post-punk to invoke a massive range of conflicting feelings. Their music has followed me through so many places and changes within my life, from my childhood bedroom to late night (admittedly drunk) walks down Bloor to playing along on my boyfriend’s guitar in Kingston. By exploring the diversity of sounds across their discography, I’m hoping to introduce you to your new favourite angsty band to listen to anywhere, during any existential crisis imaginable.

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Raging Against Your Enemies

Lowertown is most known amongst casual listeners for their edgier songs exploring anger, hurt, and apathy. The guttural bass, warm guitar, and piercingly sharp percussion of their most popular song, “Best Person You Know,” blend together to create a rollercoaster of emotions reminiscent of the stages of grief. The standout lyrics of the song are “Do you believe in god or anything at all?/What morals do you stand by?/Have your standards started to fall?” expressing the resentment, almost dehumanization felt towards those who have hurt us. As the song progresses, Osby’s repetition of the shortened lyric “do you believe in God?” masterfully shifts the mood from anger towards sadness, disappointment, and disbelief, leading into a softer, empathetic instrumental bridge before picking right back up again with a furious outro.

Some honourable mentions that are too good for me to exclude from this overview are their songs “Debris” and “Root Canal.” The exhilaratingly quick tempo of their song “Debris” combined with the build up of emotion in Osby’s voice throughout the song further emphasizes Lowertown as the ultimate band for the petty, rage-filled girls to sing along to. “Root Canal” follows a similar lightly punk-inspired sound, articulating the feeling of hoping the people who have hurt you suffer and feel the pain they have caused. Lowertown’s angsty songs are their most popular for a reason, they know how to rile you up!

Perfect to listen to while: 

• Reading old texts
• Punching your pillows post-breakup
• On a rage fueled bender

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Feeling Out of Place

“Obscurity” off their newest EP is one of my all-time faves, describing the feeling of not fitting in and trying to isolate and hide who you really are, eventually losing your true self. The lyrics “Sometimes I hide in the trees/It’s nice trying not to be seen/I think one day everyone I know will forget about me” are the focal point of the first part of the song, capturing this out-of-place feeling that is all too familiar to most of us. As the song continues, the vocals become fuzzier as the layering of vocal harmonies and the repetition of the word “obscurity” ethereally distort the melody and up the intensity. The genius of this song is that the production and use of instruments and vocals directly reproduces the fear that the song represents; having what once was clear be distorted or obscured. I’ve spent eons in my bedroom with this song on repeat since its release in 2023 because it so perfectly encapsulates the university student experience of trying to balance fitting in with keeping the essence of who I am.

Perfect to listen to while:

• On the way home from a social event
• Stuck on the outside of a friend group
• Curled up underneath your desk

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Uncontrollable Yearning

While their song “It’s Easy for Me” off their third and most recent album strays from their normal higher tempo sound, it captures the very things I love most about Lowertown: their creativity in layering notes and their ability to invoke intense emotion. This gentle instrumental guitar melody fills me with warmth, igniting this youthful sense of wonder that I had forgotten I was capable of feeling. After failing horrendously trying to learn to play this song on my own guitar, I can say with confidence the guitar technique in this song is incredible. Weinberg is a master of the guitar, plucking the strings in unexpected and unconventional ways, yet the notes come together to create a rich, full sound that captures so much beauty and emotion. I recommend this song even to those who prefer lyrical and higher intensity music, as there is something so inexplicably nostalgic and gorgeous about it that no amount of words can describe.

Perfect to listen to while: 

• Reminiscing on childhood
• Falling asleep
• Enjoying nature

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Carrying a Heavy Past

With a much heavier punk inspiration than the rest of their discography, “Scum” off their 2022 album I Love To Lie focuses on the feelings of guilt and judgement associated with bad vices and coping mechanisms. The slimy guitar tone meshes perfectly with Osby’s whiney, pain-filled vocals to encapsulate the complexity of needing something to get by despite it not being an ideal or socially acceptable solution. Another one of their songs, “Bline,” fills out their discography with a deeper, grungey sound demonstrating Lowertown’s affinity for exploring diverse vibes and genres. I adore the cold, growly bassline of this song, which is very reminiscent of Belarusian post-punk band Molchat Doma and similar synth and gothic inspired Eastern European music. Combined with Osby’s low talk-singing, Bline is perfectly unsettling, capturing the feeling of a disturbingly heavy past in a way fans of most alternative subgenres will appreciate.

Perfect to listen to while:

• On a late night walk 
• Out for a smoke 
• Driving through the industrial city outskirts

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Leaving Home

Could you really say a band encapsulates the young adult experience if it doesn’t have some type of song about moving away from home? Lowertown’s “Alone Again My Friend” is exactly that. With its dreamy, galactical instrumentals and the softness in Osby’s singing, this song punches you in the gut with longing and emotion. As a first-year who just moved away from home for the first time, I’ve often found myself fixated on the lyric, “I could use your company right now/I still hear, your voice ringing off the walls,” as it really resonates with how I feel like I’m torn between several different places I call “home.” Yet, in each distinct place I reminisce on my other homes and the people within them, feeling both greater closeness and distance to this concept of “home” than ever before.

Perfect to listen to while: 

• Alone in your dorm
• Missing your loved ones
• On a long subway ride

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Despite the mix of moods and themes I’ve listed within their music, experimentation and emotion are the common threads that tie Lowertown’s diverse discography together. Their immense creativity in incorporating different production techniques to create a rich, full sound is something that most bands can only strive for, and yet Weinberg and Osby’s ear for finding the perfect notes and chords to evoke such intense feeling is remarkable. The breadth of their works and the deeply relatable teenage-angst they capture has made such a mark on my life, and I’ve carried their music with me across the years as they seem to have the perfect song to help me through any tough emotions and experiences I’ve gone through. I’d definitely recommend giving them a listen, and hopefully they will be there to accompany you through as much comfort, nostalgia, rage, sadness, and yearning as they have for me.

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