The Low Anthem began in 2006 as a collaboration between Ben Knox Miller, a folk musician, poet and painter from New York’s Hudson River Valley and Jeff Prystowsky, jazz bassist and baseball scholar from Jersey. They began collaborating with classical composer Jocie Brown at Brown University in November 2007. Along with Virginia bluesman Dan Lefkowitz The Low Anthem began recording their second album, OH MY GOD, CHARLIE DARWIN.

The album is a thematic collection of songs opening with a gently rolling and intimate slice of Americana ‘Charlie Darwin.’ It is beautifully produced and arranged with crystal clear female vocals and well judged acoustic instrumentation. Add melody-to-burn and it’s a lovely,
mellow album opening. Next track ‘To Ohio’ adds a tad more pace and male vocal accompanied by beautiful vocal harmonies. And just one thinks that this is going to be a competitor to Fleet Foxes subdued, heavily harmonised alt country vibe along comes the country-rocking highlight of album, ‘The Horizon Is A Beltway.’ The vocal is aggressive, the instrumentation thunderous, the rhythm breakneck. It’s a wonderful song with a stonking barn dance vibe. There’s also a monster melody and I wonder if this could be the first single off the album… The same sound and that hyperactive male vocalist reappears in another storming rocker, ‘Home I’ll Never Be.’ Hell, I’m liking this album…

‘Taker Taker’ then offers respite with a whispered, close-mic vocal accompanied by mournful guitars. It’s lovely. ‘To The Ghosts Who Write History Books’ has a high plains drifter ambience, the gentlest of male vocal performances and wandering harmonica notes. Sharp, scraping acoustic guitar notes introduce ‘(Don’t ) Tremble’ in another glacially-paced narrative, while ‘Music Box’ is an elctronic and instrumental feast complete with typical music box sounds. A strong bass guitar vibe opens ‘Champion Angel’ which then rocks out as it rushes along at supersonic pace before easing back for the vocal to take over. Great! ‘Cage The Bird’ has Simon & Garfunkel style vocal harmonies as it softly weaves its way along with punctuating drum beats and a harmonium dominating instrumentally. It’s a beauty.

‘OMGCD’ has a gospel feel complete with hand-clapping and choir. Then finally there’s an instrumentally dominated reprise of ‘To Ohio’ which is superbly crafted like all the other songs here.

If you love alt-country, spiced up with folk, rock and pop, this record is for you. For me it’s a diverse sounding album where, unlike Fleet Foxes, virtually every song sounds different, while the collection hangs together wonderfully well. Strongly recommended.

4/5