2018 - This is music that will always be difficult to define. Bluegrass may be the most appropriate term, but from purists to even the newgrass jammers, they would say that’s not exactly right when it comes to Trampled by Turtles. Simonett’s songs often slot them in the singer/songwriter or “Americana” territory, but that doesn’t account for when they go on a blazing tear at a tempo usually reserved for punk. Beyond calling them an acoustic string band, you just have to listen to understand. Life Is Good on the Open Road feels like an exhalation of sorts. There’s a comfort in coming back together with old friends and flying down the highway together. But Trampled by Turtles songs have always delved into introspection, and moments of self-doubt, and there’s plenty of that here as well. You get most everything you want from a new Trampled by Turtles record, from the blazing fast instrumentation of “Blood in the Water,” to the encapsulation of emotion from Simonett‘s songwriting in “The Middle.”
12 Songs
- KELLY'S BAR
- WE ALL GET LONELY
- THE MIDDLE
- THANK YOU, JOHN STEINBECK
- ANNIHILATE
- RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED
- LIFE IS GOOD ON THE OPEN ROAD
- BLOOD IN THE WATER
- I WENT TO HOLLYWOOD
- I'M NOT HERE ANYMORE
- GOOD LAND
- I LEARN THE HARD WAY
