Nur wenige schnellere und elektrischere Nummern stehen zwischen der Mehrzahl von langsamen, nachdenklichen, introspektiven Songs, die mit morbider Leidenschaft gesungen und gespielt werden. The Low Anthem waren soeben die Indie Stars des 50. Newport Folk Festivals. Sie werden derzeit von allen einschlägigen "Americana-Medien" schwerst gehandelt und man kann sich in der Tat ihrer hypnotisierenden, massiv beeinflussenden Musik kaum entziehen. Sog- und Suchtwirkung total!! Die drei Musiker, Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowsky und Jocie Adams, spielen haufenweise verschiedene - meist akustische - Instrumente von Gitarren, Bass, Drums und Keyboards über Banjo und Percussion bis Klarinette, Rasseln, Cymbals, Melodica, Riemenorgel, Tuba und Zither. 'To Ohio' ist ein wahrhaftiger Americana-Hit, ein Alt.Folk-Ohrwurm, wie man ihn nur ganz selten erlebt. 'Home I'll Never Be' ist die einzige Covernummer hier, komponiert von Tom Waits und mit Texten von Jack Kerouac! Für alle Fans von Bon Iver, M.Ward, Death Vessel, Felice Brothers, Bowerbirds, Great Lake Swimmers u.ä.

(Glitterhouse)

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 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 journey.

(by Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide)