A possible contender for official summerband ’09 is the Low Anthem, which is set to appear at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, the Newport Folk Festival and elsewhere. The Providence, R.I., outfit is seeing its 2008 album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, given a wide release via Nonesuch on June 9. The group generally kicks up a bit of a kitchen-sink Americana racket with zither, clarinet, pump organ and the rest of the music-room closet, but the title track below is a placid showcase for Ben Knox Miller’s Garfunkelian falsetto vocals. (It also has a hint of the Sarah McLachlan song that plays during the ASPCA commericials, but that’s neither here nor there, and no, we’re not crying, there was just something in our eyes.) Change of subject: This year marks the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.
“Charlie Darwin” (download):
