Featured New Releases

Trampled By Turtles --Stars and Satellites

Trampled by Turtles build their songs on a base of fairly typical bluegrass-pop, but they distinguish themselves with sophisticated and inventive arrangements that place them at the forefront of the genre. “Midnight on the Interstate” ends with great cascades of fiddle, which don’t sound like anything any of their peers have done. It’s a gorgeous moment, as though they’re trying to push through the last miles to home. Navigating both geographically and emotionally by stars and satellites, and lyrically, frontman Dave Simonett can be bracingly candid in his admissions of confusion and guilt. Occasionally, his self-reckoning becomes a bit demonstrative: “I’m scared that I…. forget it,” he sings on “Beautiful.” But Trampled by Turtles are much less theatrical in their introspection than so many other string bands, including and especially Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers.

Stars and Satellites is full of similar surprises—unexpected nuances that allow these songs to transcend their genre, most courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Young. His cello underscores the worry of “Beautiful,” like a panic in the stomach, and his scribbles of fiddle lend “Alone” its vertiginous climax. But the band’s tight dynamic comes through on “Walt Whitman” and “Risk,” rambling jams that exceed the speed limit to show the members’ white-knuckle picking skills. Trampled by Turtles may not be the best string band out there (yet), but they are perhaps the most adventurous and the most promising, rethinking the possibilities of the genre and how it overlaps with other styles and traditions. As distinctive as Stars and Satellites turns out to be, it only hints at how intense these songs would sound in a small club with a roadworn band just out of the van.

~Stephen M. Deusner, Paste Magazine

See all of our featured new releases >>