Oh My God Charlie Darwin

Editors’ Notes The dark Americana tones of the Low Anthem’s 2007 debut, What the Crow Brings, piqued the interest of many alt-folk fans, but mostly flew under the radar. Oh My God Charlie Darwin is more energetic than the debut, with a grungy blues aesthetic fueling tracks like the Tom Waits-ish “The Horizon Is a Beltway,” as well as the more spiritually inclined “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around.” Fans of Deer Tick and Fleet Foxes should feel at home here; foot stomper “Home I’ll Never Be” might put a hole right through the floorboards, and the weightless, reverbed falsetto of “Charles Darwin” and hymnal harmonics on tracks like “Cage the Songbird” recall the Foxes’ stellar work. Instruments like zither, clarinet, pump organ and even a music box sprinkle a bittersweet and oddly nostalgic feel throughout; “To Ohio” sighs with wistfulness, all swelling woodwinds and barely picked guitars, and the spirit of vintage Bob Dylan permeates several tracks, especially the intimate Don’t Tremble.” Oh My God is full of beautiful, inspired alt-folk music, made with loving care.