1. Things We Lost In The Fire (2001)

Things We Lost In The Fire is guided by an overriding motif of, “What would we miss if we lost all our worldly possessions? What do we truly value?” Not an original thought, but Low articulate it with wide-eyed and abject clarity throughout this sublime album. The gorgeous reverie “Sunflower” seeks redemption for the bereft, while the clamorous “Dinosaur Act” questions the nature of self-worth and the inevitable diminishing returns of materialism and social status. Yet the heart of the record is found on closing track “In Metal,” as Parker keens, “I wish I could keep your little body in metal,” utterly in awe of human frailty, as the couple’s then infant child Hollis coos gently in the background. Ecclesiastical themes abound, but this is ultimately a dignified meditation on love, loss, and finding cold comfort in the incorporeal.