Pop/Rock - The exceptionally gifted Rhode Islanders The Low Anthem have seen their much buzzed star in ascendancy since the release last fall of Oh My God Charlie Darwin, a gloriously understated and supremely brilliant collection of mostly pensive music that redefines "roots" music in what one critic described as "bi-polar Americana."

With an exotic collection of instruments, The Low Anthem style falls somewhere between the spacious, luxuriously tattered tapestry of gorgeously melodic Iron and Wine-type ballads ("To Ohio", "Charlie Darwin") and the raw, rasping bursts of the more recent Tom Waits cacophony stomps ("The Highway Is A Beltway", "Home I'll Never Be"). Harmonicas and harmoniums merge to bridge classic American stylings (Dylan, The Band, Neil Young) with an exploratory approach that finds influences in the music from the hills of Kentucky and streets of London, New Orleans to the pre-gentrified bowery of NY's lower east side. The music is scuffed and scruffy, honest and without pretense, and ultimately, richly rewarding in a way that most artists can only imagine.

Described by Rolling Stone as "solemnly beautiful" and named one of America's "hottest unsigned" bands, The Low Anthem were recently inked to the most appropriate Nonesuch label with an "updated" version of Charlie Darwin set for June 9 release. We think The Low Anthem should be a high priority. As the BBC said of their recent "stunning" SXSW performance, “Expect much flowerier words of praise thrown on this band in the future; they deserve everything said about them.”

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Banner photo: Dan Miller