Music review: The Low Anthem

The Low Anthem's new album, Oh my God, Charlie Darwin

4 stars

Like the name suggests, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin resonates with its cognitive dissonance. The title track begins the album with a ghostly, ancient drawl as The Low Anthem starts to sound like a well-mannered band lost in the 1800s.

But just when the listener thinks the politeness of Ben Miller’s voice has set in to stay, his throaty rock emerges full force on “Home I’ll Never Be.” With the ensemble stomping their feet and cheering, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin has the vivacity to drown out musical cousins The Avett Brothers.

But this aggressive energy is juxtaposed with ambience so peaceful that it rivals Bon Iver or Fleet Foxes.

It’s this ability to make eerie folk melodies and thumping rock tunes work side by side that sets this album apart. “Music Box,” a dawdling, facetiously cute and earnestly creepy instrumental gives way to “Champion Angel,” which melds sepia-toned folk-rock with helter-skelter punk rock screaming.

Thus the band builds a pleasant dynamic, evening out the deliberateness of tracks like “To Ohio” with carefree, banjo-banging jams.

Miller’s downright haunting lyrics and admirable vocal range further help to unite the album. “You’ll hear that distant love song when the wind blows right/Hear the whistle blowing put a teardrop in your eye,” he sings with a longing despair that makes these almost cliché lines resonate powerfully.

Charlie Darwin takes a trip through Americana and the forgotten folklore of our country’s beginnings. But while the music certainly reflects this old-timey despondency, it’s also filled with enough gleeful motion to make it just as useful for a hoe down as it would be for a breakup.