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May 30, 2025What makes With Trampled by Turtles remarkable isn’t just that Sparhawk’s voice is back, unfiltered and unprocessed, but that it sounds like his voice. Scarred, unsteady, occasionally fraying at the edges, but undeniably his.
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Aug 20, 2025With Trampled by Turtles is indeed closer in the sense that these are verse/chorus/verse songs largely performed by acoustic instruments. Anyone familiar with the sometimes-bluegrass, wide-reaching folk band Trampled by Turtles might guess, though, it still doesn’t sound much like Low. And the record is better for that.
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Jun 2, 2025The pairing turns out to be ideal - Sparhawk’s voice and presence maintains the kind of somber elegance he’s always had, while Trampled By Turtles provide a rustic backdrop which not only fits the material like a glove, but adds a world-weary sense of depth.
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May 29, 2025Somehow, With Trampled with Turtles combines the emotional heaviness and wounded introspection seamlessly with the palpable, communal joy of playing and singing music in good company.
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The WireMay 29, 2025Thanks undoubtedly to their established friendship and chemistry, With Trampled By Turtles sees Sparhawk and the band bring an effortlessness and consistency to material of varied origin, from old songs never recorded with Low, to newer compositions. [Jun 2025, p.59]
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May 29, 2025Running at 33 fat-free minutes, With Tramped By Turtles is immediate evidence of their comfort as ensemble players. .... The sense is of both parties yielding to the moment, guided by instinct and decades of fluency in their respective practices. [Jul 2025, p.24]
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Jun 2, 2025With Trampled by Turtles—a raw snapshot of perfectly articulated hurt, and the first steps of navigating it for the rest of one’s life—is one of the most compelling records of Sparhawk’s career.
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Jun 2, 2025With Trampled by Turtles is a satisfying Americana album and one that Low fans will enjoy. However, it feels like a missed trick to try and make something forward thinking, rather than familiar.
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May 29, 2025Even as Low’s sound twisted into new forms over the years, they never quite got into bluegrass territory, and it takes a few songs to acclimate to the combination of high-spirited acoustic music and Sparhawk’s emotionally powerful but usually subtle style.
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Jun 11, 2025The outcome of this pairing is an uneven affair, with deep troughs and high peaks.