Thou: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

May 6, 2019 | Lars Gotrich -- The first-ever metal band at the Tiny Desk is a little bit of a head fake. Make no mistake, Thou makes some of the heaviest, most tortuous music around; but the band also constantly experiments with beautifully ornate arrangements that balance its most extreme measures. In a set culled from the acoustic-driven Inconsolable — one of six full-lengths, EPs and splits the band released last year (no, really) — Thou shows us just how crushing quiet can be. “This is the softest I’ve ever played,“ guitarist KC Stafford told me during sound check. Yes, their downtuned guitars are turned down low at the NPR Music office, but the weight is still ever-present. Stafford takes the lead on “The Hammer“ as co-vocalists Emily McWilliams and Melissa Guion (who also makes ambient-pop music under the name MJ Guider) sing, “Bring down the hammer / A bludgeon to my shrines / Bring down the hammer / To the corpse of my worship.“ These are the cryptic lyrics and