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Oh My God Charlie Darwin

The Low AnthemAudio CD
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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MP3 Music, 12 Songs, 2009 $9.49  
Audio CD, 2009 $11.99  
Vinyl, Import, 2009 $50.93  

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
listen  1. Charlie Darwin 4:31$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  2. To Ohio 3:17$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  3. Ticket Taker 3:08$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  4. The Horizon Is A Beltway 2:49$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  5. Home I'll Never Be 2:46$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  6. Cage The Songbird 4:01$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  7. [Don't] Tremble 4:36$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  8. Music Box 1:50$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  9. Champion Angel 5:32$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen10. To The Ghosts Who Write History Books 3:27$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen11. Omgcd 1:53$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen12. To Ohio [Reprise] 3:42$0.99  Buy MP3 


Amazon's The Low Anthem Store

Music

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Biography

The Low Anthem
Smart Flesh

“The building didn’t hold heat at all. It was too cold for fast chops and too cold to relax,” recalls Ben Knox Miller, who, with the rest of The Low Anthem, hunkered down in December of 2009 for a winter of recording in a cavernous, derelict pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, RI. Miller, with band-mates Jeff Prystowsky, Jocie Adams, and ... Read more in Amazon's The Low Anthem Store

Visit Amazon's The Low Anthem Store
for 5 albums, 8 photos, discussions, and more.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy a CD or a vinyl record, get a $1 Amazon MP3 Credit. Limit one promotional credit per customer. Here's how (restrictions apply)
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Frequently Bought Together

Oh My God Charlie Darwin + Smart Flesh + The Lumineers
Price for all three: $31.97

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  • Smart Flesh $10.99
  • The Lumineers $8.99


Product Details

  • Audio CD (June 9, 2009)
  • Original Release Date: 2009
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Nonesuch
  • ASIN: B0026IZR34
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,081 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The group's Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, offers an elegant sort of Americana. Its songs about long-ago travels and romantic travails, eternal longing and inevitable leaving are often hushed, dreamy and mysterious. Simple folk-song structures are uplifted by hymn-like, chamber music arrangements. The three young multi-instrumentalists Ben Knox Miller,
Jeff Prystowsky and Jocie Adams recorded the album in the most remote place they could find near their Providence, Rhode
Island, home: 'In the ghostly stillness of a Block Island winter,' as they put it. The intimacy of the makeshift studio they created
in their chilly off-season environs is palpable; Paste declared, 'The Low Anthem's harmonica-and-string-flavored ballads are as haunting as they are gorgeous. This group of Providence up-and-comers knows how to break your heart and make you smile at the same time.' Not everything is understated, though: on 'The Horizon Is A Beltway,' they raise an exuberant acoustic clatter
that recalls Bruce Springsteen's work with his Seeger Sessions Band. They also cover Tom Waits' 'Home I'll Never Be,' a raucous adaptation of a Jack Kerouac poem.

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
(15)
4.5 out of 5 stars
There is a very dramatic and different dynamic to the music on this album. listen_er  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
They call it Americana and folk but to me it's just music, good music. Rex Mundi  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
I highly recommend this album, but also hope that you will be able to listen without prejudice. Hoover Pendleton  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Haven from the World and Her Decay. . . June 17, 2009
Format:Audio CD
I first bought "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" directly from the band's website last year. The disc arrived in an artfully hand-stamped, hand-numbered cardboard sleeve. Within that lay a black labeled disc that contained some of the most sublime music of 2008. This wasn't my first introduction to the band, as What The Crow Brings was among my favorite records of 2007. Opening with the darkly hopeful "The Ballad of the Broken Bones" instantly suggested to me that The Low Anthem had a bit of insight into the human soul. Listening to the following tracks "Yellowed by the Sun" and "As the Flame Burns Down" only served to confirm my initial thoughts.

So when I heard of the imminent release of "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" in August of 2008, I immediately made plans to purchase the record. I admit, I didn't think the band would be able to follow up their previous work, much less surpass it. It's a testament to the artists involved that they not only produced a worthy third album, but created their most layered work to date. First track "Charlie Darwin", which Paste Magazine readers may recall appeared on one of their monthly discs, is absolutely fantastic. Genius. Brilliant. I give up! I can't think of enough superlatives for even the one track.

Speaking of Paste Magazine, their July '09 issue rated this album a 90 out of 100 along with review that favorably highlights the lyric "The lords of war just profit from decay". Curiously, Rolling Stone quoted that same lyric and claimed the album "suffered" because of it. They ultimately gave three out of five stars along with a review that totals all of three sentences. Allmusic, for their part, awarded the album four out of five stars while the English magazine Uncut awarded the same.

Lyrics like "Set the sails I feel the winds a'stirring, toward the bright horizon set the way, cast your wreckless dreams upon our Mayflower, haven from the world and her decay" stick with you long after the track has ended. Then you're immediately faced with second track "Ohio", which isn't as lyric intensive but is every bit as heart wrenchingly beautiful. Suddenly, "The Horizon is a Beltway" blares through your speakers. It's a cacophonous affair, all gravely vocals and foot stomping rhythm, and a marked change from the previous tracks. But it works, and it works quite well.

The Low Anthem stumble a bit with "Home I'll Never Be", as it ratchets up the tempo once more but comes off as a late night drunken jam session. It's not a bad song, but rather a weak one. I've never seen The Low Anthem on stage, so I'm willing to bet serious money this track would translate much better in a live setting. This is a track that demands immediacy, something which simply doesn't come about in a pre-recorded album. "Ticket Taker", a simple acoustic song, comes across much more pleasantly with lyrics like "They say before he bit it, the boxer felt no pain, but somewhere there's a gamblin' man, with a ticket in the rain."

Even the record-ending reprises are gorgeous, particularly "OMGCD", which is a more lively, upbeat take on the first track. It was a welcome surprise to see this album getting a higher profile re-release this year on Nonesuch records, especially since this record wasn't even available by conventional means upon its initial release. I offer the most sincere recommendation to check this music out, which their website accurately describes as "gorgeous chamber folk".

For fans of acts like:
Pinetop Seven The Night's Bloom
Dolorean You Can't Win
Sun Kil Moon April
Magnolia Electric Co. Josephine
Josh Ritter The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Stomping, Haunting July 13, 2009
Format:Audio CD
This album is both haunting and foot stomping at different times - a pretty phenomenal accomplishment. (And I can't believe RS actually published the review they did - not because their critic gave it a mediocre review, but because his three sentence (3 sentence!) review was obviously tossed off without nary a listen. It's like the author just wanted to collect his fee without actually giving the band or the album its due.) I highly recommend this album, but also hope that you will be able to listen without prejudice.
Was this review helpful to you?
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic album from a promising band June 15, 2009
Format:Audio CD
From the brilliant falsetto on the dream-like "Charlie Darwin" to the dustbowl imagery of "Ohio" to the raucous "The Horizon is a Beltway", Providence's The Low Anthem have created a phenomenal album from front to back, using their instruments to paint a different picture on each and every song.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Love anthem
These guys are some of the best out there right now. I love their blend of slow and thoughtful. Lyrics are the very best.
Published 6 months ago by drawingthoughts
4.0 out of 5 stars Yin and Twang
This is my first foray into The Low Anthem realm. I grabbed this Low Anthem album CD at the suggestion of Alan Cross on his podcast, and am overall pleased with his suggestion,... Read more
Published 18 months ago by listen_er
5.0 out of 5 stars Low Anthem rocks again
This album has an eclectic collection of their music. Got it on vinyl and the richness of the sounds is amazing! Definitely check this out. Read more
Published on November 9, 2010 by Janine Weiche
5.0 out of 5 stars sleeper
This turned out to be one of my favorite albums in 2009. A very solid set of great tunes. I've heard people throw in comparisons to Tom Waits, Springsteen, CSN, and various... Read more
Published on October 12, 2010 by Donald E. Gilliland
5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting
Haunting music, really atmospheric. Great traveling music when you're headed west across the the flatland. Full moon, stars, and the wolf howling (if you live in Minnesota). Read more
Published on September 22, 2010 by Bill Westbrook
5.0 out of 5 stars OMG Great Album
Want something a little different? OMGCD delivers great soulful music, with some songs that really have a punch. I didn't really know what to expect with this one. Read more
Published on September 13, 2010 by CAL-GAL
4.0 out of 5 stars Promo CD sold
Good CD, but on the disc was printed "Not For SALE"
Is it OK to sell promo CDs against the distributors written wishes?
Published on August 31, 2010 by Kathleen L. Knight
4.0 out of 5 stars Saw them opening for The Avett Brothers
And bought the OMGCD lp and the single of "To The Ghosts Who Write History Books"and I am hooked. They call it Americana and folk but to me it's just music, good music. Read more
Published on March 17, 2010 by Rex Mundi
4.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding collection of Americana for the 21st century
Rhode Island-based trio The Low Anthem issued quite a nice debut album "What the Crow Brings" in 2007. Read more
Published on October 17, 2009 by Paul Allaer
4.0 out of 5 stars High on The Low Anthem
I Like Tom Waits, The Felice Brothers,and Wilco. So Americana. so good. Now Ive added Low Anthem to that list. Read more
Published on July 9, 2009 by Sam Andersen
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