There's something heart-warming about a home-made item. When one receives a home-made gift, most recipients tend to be doubly touched because they recognize the effort and delicacy put into the crafting; it's special because of the time and thought expenditure made by the maker to create something unique to give to someone special. Without outright saying it, the receipt of a one-of-a-kind article implies that the recipient is one-of-a-kind too. It's a very intimate exchange and an effort seldom exerted by a band signed to a big-time record label. One can't help but feel like that was precisely the sort of motivation that guided The Low Anthem as they created Oh My God, Charlie Darwin though.
Before a single note is heard, you'll notice that each copy of the album on the rack features hand silk-screened designs; tasteful, neat and simply designed, it's something of a throwback to a different period in time and craftsmanship. It's touching and – just think! – you haven't heard a note yet but, with the right set of eyes, you're already starting to appreciate it.
So throw it on already and treat yourself.
Beginning with the sleepy and high-lonesome beauty of “Charlie Darwin,” The Low Anthem delivers on the promise of a special gift and, via the aforementioned track as well as “To Ohio” and “Ticket Taker,” multi-instrumentalists Ben Knox Miller, Jeffrey Prystowsky and Jocie Adams agree to meet Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen and James Jackson Toth down in lonesome town and wrote and recorded this album along the way to chronicle the trip. En route, The Low Anthem sees things – fantastic to behold – like the explosion of a sunrise on some desolate plain (in “The Horizon Is A Beltway” where singer Miller proclaims, in awe, “The skyline's on fire!”) and the jaw-dropping expanses of Americana and plays justice to what they see. Along the way too, they run into unusual characters (including Jack Kerouac – on the road himself – in “Home I'll Never Be” and the ghosts who write history books in a song by the same name) and, in every case, the band plays catbird to the stimuli they're confronted with (Miller hits song pretty impressive vocal high notes in “Charlie Darwin,” sleazes up to Morrissey proportions on “Cage The Songbird” and whispers secrets so quietly you can hear it when his tongue slides over his teeth on “Ticket Taker” before barking like a crazed dog on “The Horizon Is A Beltway” and “Home I'll Never Be”) and listeners find themselves willingly and easily giving in to let them take the lead on this tour – with instrumental accompaniment ranging from the finest folk to Country & Western straight out of Appalachia to sinewy rock n' roll – because there always seems to be something remarkable around every corner.
As the record draws to a close and the band reprises “To Ohio” with a much-enriched and heavily orchestrated backing, it's unclear if the treasures that The Low Anthem sought were the treasures they found but those listeners that bought the ticket and took the ride with them will discover that they feel elated that they got to tag along on the band's odyssey. The way the package is presented here combined with the personal tenor of the music makes it even better too; hand-designed (literally) from cover to cover and with a startlingly intricate craft to the songs, the album feels like something special made just for you.
Artist:
The Low Anthem online
The Low Anthem myspace
Download:
“Cage The Songbird” from Oh My God, Charlie Darwin by The Low Anthem
Album:
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin is out now. Buy it here on Amazon.
