W.W. Lowman came to the city of Chicago in 1998. While interning at ACME studios Jim O'Rourke heard him playing a guitar. He was so taken with this unique sound that he asked Lowman to perform with him at the opening of a Tom Ze/Tortoise show. Soon word of his technique and versatility spread and he found himself playing and touring with a wide variety of Chicago musical luminaries: L'altra, Smog, Aluminum Group, Alasdair Roberts, Edith Frost, Bobby Conn, Lindsay Anderson, and Will Oldham.

Three years in the making, Plain Songs is an album that is both soulful and composed. The wildflowers on its cover contrasted with the sophisticated songs within serve as a perfect metaphor for the album's unique approach. While the album is firmly rooted in the traditional, it also reaches forward artistically. Simultaneously occupying both these worlds produces something that is simply sublime.

Plain Songs originally started as a few musical ideas and fragments that Lowman brought to frequent collaborator Frank Navin (Aluminum Group). Captivated with what he heard, Frank encouraged him to flesh out the ideas and the two started to lay the groundwork of the album in Navin's home studio. Once these were in place Lowman took inspiration from an unusual source. He was always intrigued by popular composers Burt Bacharach and Ennio Morricone's ability to seamlessly meld their formal music training to catchy and accessible pop and world music. Taking their cues he formally composed almost all of the parts and then reached out to some friends to track the album: Fred Lonberg Holm (Brotzmann Tentet, Terminal 4), Max Crawford (Poi Dog Pondering), Lindsay Anderson (L'altra, solo), Mark Greenberg (the Coctails, Archer Prewitt) Frank Navin (Aluminum Group), Darren Garvey (Andreas Kapsalis Trio), among others. Literally a who's who list of the best players the city of Chicago has to offer.