Trampled by Turtles
Wild Animals
Reviewed by: Brian Roser
First, let me start off by saying that I love the name of this band. Wild Animals starts out mellow and sad, then moves on to…well the lyrics are still sad, but at least the rhythms get more peppy. The music style seems to swing from Peter, Paul and Mary to the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and back again. The themes of lost love and loneliness play large roles in this album, but Trampled by Turtles isn’t content to play the same groove over and over again. They mix up the pace and tempo, making each track distinct from the one that preceded it. The songs also feature a wide array of instruments that are thrown into the mix. There’s a violin, or rather a fiddle solo, along with the guitar solo, a mandolin solo, banjo, harmonica and…dude, is that a cello?
Wild Animals is album number seven for the band in their ten years together, which is a pretty good track record. They aren’t going to outsell Miley Cyrus anytime soon, but they have done well for themselves and even managed to get a spot on The Late Show With David Letterman. There are five members of Trampled by Turtles: Dave Simonett on lead vocals, and Tim Saxhaug, Dave Carroll, Erik Berry and Ryan Young on probably everything from the lyre to the bouzouki. They make their home in Duluth, Minnesota, which could go a long way towards explaining where the themes of loneliness come from.
Wild Animals is a good album. Trampled by Turtles has a sound that is their own, but with a versatility that keeps the music fresh throughout. I do have bad news for them, though. In their song “Western World” they sing: “all you need to survive is to learn how to fake it.” If that’s true, then these guys are dead meat, because you can’t fake this kind of musical talent.
Rating: 
