Trampled By Turtles

It's been less than a year since this Minnesota sextet made their Canadian debut with Palomino. This is an even stronger effort, one that avoids the sometimes-frantic pace that marred that earlier album a little. Chief songwriter Dave Simonett has an expressive yet understated vocal style that suits such elegiac ballads as "High Water," "Beautiful" and "Widower's Heart." To keep things from getting too sombre, Trampled By Turtles mix in spirited bluegrass instrumentals "Risk" (written by banjo player Dave Carroll) and "Don't Look Down" (by mandolinist Erik Berry). Such changes of pace can be a bit disconcerting, but the strength of the material compensates. The judicious addition of cello, lap steel and a vocal choir also help flesh out the group's sound nicely on some tracks. Kudos to Toronto label Six Shooter for importing these Americans.