The salt doll went to measure the depth of the sea

"Lots of different experiences and adversities combine in the Rhode Island folk-rock turned minimalists' fifth album, from uncovering, in a John Cage biography, the fable that lends itself to the record's title, to the influence of Cage in their use of abstract sounds and aural artefacts, and on to a tour van crash that destroyed much of their gear and temporarily side-lined the band's Jeff Prystowsky ... To paraphrase just a touch, post-crash, necessity is very much the mother of inventiveness here. But out of that echoing vastness comes a gentle sense of melody that reveals itself, bit by bit, through repeated visits".

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"It's a hushed, poignant, not-so-subtly eerie work that's nearly as much an electronic album as a folk one, though its sound lies somewhere in the expanses in between. Fans shouldn't tune in expecting their earlier albums' instrumentalism but rather for immersion - in a concept, in a mood, and in contemplation ... Almost completely stripped of virtuosity, The Salt Doll may alienate certain traditional roots fans but has the potential to bewitch musers and wanderers".

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"A clear contrast to that last release, the new disc's qualities will be acknowledged by those who appreciate the intelligent compositional techniques that have long been characteristic of The Low Anthem ... The complexities are fewer, but the band has resisted the temptation to recycle older tropes while it nevertheless still conveys a sense of a debt to tradition that has been a consistent feature over the years. It's an admirable essay in re-invention, brought about by necessity certainly, but no less successful for all that".

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