THE LOW ANTHEM
''OH MY GOD, CHARLIE DARWIN''
JUNE 9 2009
41:19
1 Charlie Darwin 04:28
2 To Ohio 03:15
3 Ticket Taker 03:04
4 The Horizon Is A Beltway 02:48
5 Home I'll Never Be/Jack Kerouac, Tom Waits 02:45
6 Cage The Songbird 03:59
7 (Don't) Tremble/Jodie Adams, Ben Knox Miller 04:35
8 Music Box/Jodie Adams, Ben Knox Miller 01:49
9 Champion Angel 05:31
10 To The Ghosts Who Write History Books 03:27
11 Omgcd 01:52
12 To Ohio (Reprise) 03:39
Tracks By Ben Knox Miller, Jeffrey Prystowsky, Except As Indicated
REVIEW
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
The Low Anthem cover all their Americana bases with Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, an album that alternates between old-timey country, secular gospel, and harmonized folk. Few bands handle such wide swaths of music with grace, and even fewer manage to steer clear of sepia-toned pastiche in the process. Charlie Darwin is that rare exception, a hybrid of old traditions and contemporary flourishes that sounds at once earthy, ethereal, and uncalculated. Led by frontman Ben Knox Miller, the band resurrects old genres like folk anthropologists, using acoustic instruments (as well as some more esoteric additions, including a refurbished pump organ from the first World War) as their tools of choice. "Charlie Darwin" and "Cage the Songbird" are vocal showcases, padded with three-part harmonies and thick layers of reverb, while a cover of Tom Waits' "Home I'll Never Be" eschews intimacy for ramshackle energy, sounding like a field recording from the late-night hours of a country jamboree. The band makes multiple stops in between those styles, pitching their tent closer to the alt country-rock camp with "Champion Angel" before going to church for the gospel-tinged "Omgcd." Miller steals the spotlight throughout -- he's a falsetto crooner during the opening track, a boot-stomping bluesman on "The Horizon Is a Beltway," a Dylan disciple on the folksier tracks -- but this is still a group effort, with string contributions by Jocie Adams and a flurry of instrumental activity by co-founder Jeffrey Prystowsky. There's a lot of ground covered here, of course, yet the band never loses sight of its destination, and those who can keep up are in for a tuneful trek.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
The Low Anthem's unique brand of Americana makes room for gospel, folk, and blues, a blend that began taking shape in their hometown of Providence, RI. Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky -- both students at Brown University, as well as late-night DJs at the school's radio station -- formed The Low Anthem in 2006, drawing upon their background as classical composers to help mold the group's eclectic music. Jocie Adams joined one year later, and the group began widening its arsenal of instruments accordingly, utilizing everything from World War I pump organs to crotales in the process. After making its independent debut with 2007's What the Crow Brings, the band rang in 2008 by temporarily relocating to Block Island -- a remote location 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast -- to record an album with producer Jesse Lauter. The stark, serene environment proved to be appropriate for the music, which the band initially self-released under the title Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.
As their buzz continued to build, The Low Anthem signed a contract with Nonesuch Recordings and reissued Oh My God in 2009, supporting the release with a string of performances at summer festivals. Multi-instrumentalist Mat Davidson was added to the lineup later that year, joining The Low Anthem's ranks one month before they headed to Central Falls, RI, to record a third album. Setting up a makeshift studio inside an abandoned pasta sauce factory, the group recorded Smart Flesh over a period of three months, making good use of the building's carvernous, resonant spaces. The album was released in February 2011.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
''OH MY GOD, CHARLIE DARWIN''
JUNE 9 2009
41:19
1 Charlie Darwin 04:28
2 To Ohio 03:15
3 Ticket Taker 03:04
4 The Horizon Is A Beltway 02:48
5 Home I'll Never Be/Jack Kerouac, Tom Waits 02:45
6 Cage The Songbird 03:59
7 (Don't) Tremble/Jodie Adams, Ben Knox Miller 04:35
8 Music Box/Jodie Adams, Ben Knox Miller 01:49
9 Champion Angel 05:31
10 To The Ghosts Who Write History Books 03:27
11 Omgcd 01:52
12 To Ohio (Reprise) 03:39
Tracks By Ben Knox Miller, Jeffrey Prystowsky, Except As Indicated
REVIEW
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
The Low Anthem cover all their Americana bases with Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, an album that alternates between old-timey country, secular gospel, and harmonized folk. Few bands handle such wide swaths of music with grace, and even fewer manage to steer clear of sepia-toned pastiche in the process. Charlie Darwin is that rare exception, a hybrid of old traditions and contemporary flourishes that sounds at once earthy, ethereal, and uncalculated. Led by frontman Ben Knox Miller, the band resurrects old genres like folk anthropologists, using acoustic instruments (as well as some more esoteric additions, including a refurbished pump organ from the first World War) as their tools of choice. "Charlie Darwin" and "Cage the Songbird" are vocal showcases, padded with three-part harmonies and thick layers of reverb, while a cover of Tom Waits' "Home I'll Never Be" eschews intimacy for ramshackle energy, sounding like a field recording from the late-night hours of a country jamboree. The band makes multiple stops in between those styles, pitching their tent closer to the alt country-rock camp with "Champion Angel" before going to church for the gospel-tinged "Omgcd." Miller steals the spotlight throughout -- he's a falsetto crooner during the opening track, a boot-stomping bluesman on "The Horizon Is a Beltway," a Dylan disciple on the folksier tracks -- but this is still a group effort, with string contributions by Jocie Adams and a flurry of instrumental activity by co-founder Jeffrey Prystowsky. There's a lot of ground covered here, of course, yet the band never loses sight of its destination, and those who can keep up are in for a tuneful trek.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey, AMG
The Low Anthem's unique brand of Americana makes room for gospel, folk, and blues, a blend that began taking shape in their hometown of Providence, RI. Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky -- both students at Brown University, as well as late-night DJs at the school's radio station -- formed The Low Anthem in 2006, drawing upon their background as classical composers to help mold the group's eclectic music. Jocie Adams joined one year later, and the group began widening its arsenal of instruments accordingly, utilizing everything from World War I pump organs to crotales in the process. After making its independent debut with 2007's What the Crow Brings, the band rang in 2008 by temporarily relocating to Block Island -- a remote location 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast -- to record an album with producer Jesse Lauter. The stark, serene environment proved to be appropriate for the music, which the band initially self-released under the title Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.
As their buzz continued to build, The Low Anthem signed a contract with Nonesuch Recordings and reissued Oh My God in 2009, supporting the release with a string of performances at summer festivals. Multi-instrumentalist Mat Davidson was added to the lineup later that year, joining The Low Anthem's ranks one month before they headed to Central Falls, RI, to record a third album. Setting up a makeshift studio inside an abandoned pasta sauce factory, the group recorded Smart Flesh over a period of three months, making good use of the building's carvernous, resonant spaces. The album was released in February 2011.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
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