"[3] Low's style grew experimental over time, gradually incorporating elements of electronica and glitch music on later releases, while retaining their minimalist approach.

Sparhawk had been playing in the Superior, Wisconsin, band Zen Identity, the core of which was formed by drummer Robb Berry and vocalist Bill Walton.

Sparhawk taught Zen Identity songs to Nichols and during practices, the two started improvising with some very modest, quiet themes.

[6] It featured Nichols on bass, though he was replaced by Zak Sally, who joined for the recording of the band's next album Long Division.

Long Division and its similar follow-up, 1996's The Curtain Hits the Cast, established the band as critical darlings; extensive touring helped them to develop a highly devoted fan base.

All three of the band's full-length releases on Kranky featured superstar producers: Secret Name and Things We Lost in the Fire feature the work of recording engineer Steve Albini, who proved sympathetic to capturing the band's strengths; while Trust was recorded by Tom Herbers along with Duluth engineer Eric Swanson and mixed by Tchad Blake at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.

The band use subtle electronic music touches to augment their sound, reflective of their tenure with Kranky and their exposure to the Midwest's post-rock scene.

Adding a more overt rock element to their aesthetic, the band has used fuzz bass from Things We Lost In the Fire onward, and began using distorted lead guitar on Trust.

Sparhawk published a statement on the band's website, addressed directly to fans, detailing his personal problems with depression that resulted in the cancellation of the tour.

In August 2005, Sparhawk announced his return to performance, embarking on a US tour with former Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek.

[12] With the announcement of the album came news of Garrington's departure from the band a year prior, turning Low into an official duo for the first time in their career.

[13] Parker was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in late 2020; she began treatment in 2021 and publicly revealed the diagnosis during a podcast interview in January 2022.

[19] Following Parker's death, Sparhawk focused his musical attention to a new project named Damien, featuring their son, Cyrus, on bass guitar, songwriter Marc Gartman on vocals and drummer Owen Mahon.

During their early career, the band often faced unsympathetic and inattentive audiences in bars and clubs, to which they responded by bucking rock protocol and turning their volume down.

[citation needed] Their shows often featured drastically reinterpreted cover versions of famous songs by Joy Division and The Smiths, in addition to their own original material.

In performance, Low showed off a sense of humor not necessarily found on their recordings; a tour in early 2004 featured a cover of OutKast's hit song "Hey Ya!".

At a gig in Los Angeles on Halloween 1998, the band took the stage as a Misfits tribute act,[22] complete with corpse paint and black clothing.

[25] The performance lasted half an hour and was broadcast live on radio station KCMP, which had been playing cuts of their recent album.

The band's version of "The Little Drummer Boy", played as a hymn, was featured in a Gap television ad that depicted a snowball fight in slow-motion to match the song's glacial tempo.

The band made their network television debut in 2005 by performing the single "California" on an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly.

On June 11, 2007, Scott Bateman, a web animator, announced that his video for Low's song "Hatchet (Optimimi version)" would be one of the preloads on the new Microsoft Zune portable media player.

On March 24, 2008, their song "Point of Disgust" was featured in the UK television show Skins, prompting a rush of download sales from iTunes.

[citation needed] The 2008 movie KillShot, starring Mickey Rourke and Diane Lane, features the song "Monkey" early in the film.

In 2010, Robert Plant recorded two Low songs from The Great Destroyer, "Monkey" and "Silver Rider", for his album Band of Joy.

The band were chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in March 2012 in Minehead, England.

He met Mimi Jo Parker (1967–2022)[31][32] while they were both students at the same grade school in the small town of Clearbrook, Minnesota outside of Bemidji.

"[37] Low founded the record label Chairkickers' Union, which releases their own material as well as work by musicians such as Rivulets and Haley Bonar.

Sparhawk is notably active in Duluth's small but vibrant independent music scene; he operates a recording studio in the town, in a deconsecrated church where the acoustics provided the lush reverb which was characteristic of Low's sound.

As Hollis M. Sparhawk & Her Father, his track "Thanks 1 2 3 Watch" appeared on the 2002 compilation album "Songs for the End of the World" released by Duluth label Silber Records.