Perhaps as a side effect of a misspent youth where I had friends who leaned toward torn clothing, homemade piercings, and 5 minute rock songs played in under 2, I’ve always kind of liked really fast bluegrass. Â Several years ago I stumbled across Trampled By Turtles, who didn’t just speed up bluegrass songs, they wrote original compositions intended to be played somewhere north of 250 beats per minute. Â So it was with some enthusiasm I dropped the figurative needle on their latest release, Wild Animals.
Well. Â The boys from Duluth have expanded their repertoire. Â The title cut, and first track on the disc, is a normal tempo number with tons of vocal reverb that makes me think these guys have listened to a lot of Jim James and My Morning Jacket. Â It’s the same thing with Hollow and Ghosts, where the line “oh please don’t bore us, whatever you do” maybe gives a hint at why this new direction.
Fortunately there’s also a fair share of where TBT started. Â Come Back Home is speedgrass at its finest. Â Western World takes that tempo, but applies just a touch of reverb on the harmonies, and maybe it’s the best indicator of the possibilities of a new direction. Â Nobody Knows also adheres to a faster pace, yet still manages to invoke the feeling of a good country waltz.
 It’s always kind of jarring when a band you’ve liked for a long time heads in a new direction.  So if you’re a long time TBT fan, Wild Animals is going to surprise you.  But peel back the layer of shock and you’ll find there’s a bunch of good music on this album.  And Trampled By Turtles are ripe with possibilities.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.