For decades, Alan Sparhawk was one of the two main voices in Low, the great Midwestern indie band that went through so many stages of evolution over their long run. In 2022, Sparhawk’s wife and creative partner Mimi Parker passed away from cancer. Now, Sparhawk is making music on his own, and that music has taken some unpredictable turns. Last year, Sparhawk released his first solo album White Roses, My God, a grief area built on electronic production and extreme vocal filtering. He also worked with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on last year’s Queer soundtrack. Now, he’s made an album with Trampled By Turtles.

Trampled By Turtles come Duluth, Minnesota, which is also Alan Sparhawk’s hometown. They’re a bluegrass-inflected group with feet in the Americana and jam-band worlds. Sparhawk and Mimi Parker once served as mentor figures for Trampled By Turtles. After Parker passed away, Trampled By Turtles invited Sparhawk to spend some time with them, and he took them up on them, joining the group onstage a number of times. Now, the band backs Sparhawk up on a new album that’s helpfully titled With Trampled By Turtles. It’s technically a solo LP for Sparhawk, even if the whole thing was recorded in a collaborative fashion.

In December 2024, Trampled By Turtles invited Alan Sparhawk out to Minnesota’s storied Pachyderm Studios for some sessions. Sparhawk had a few songs in progress, including some that had never quite worked for Low. Without practicing anything ahead of time, the band helped flesh those songs out, and it should be fascinating to hear how they turn out. Along with the album announcement, Sparhawk has shared the album opener “Stranger,” an emotionally heavy song that leans on Trampled By Turtles’ folky arrangement and harmonies. Below, check out that song’s video, as well as the With Trampled By Turtles tracklist and Sparhawk’s upcoming tour dates.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Stranger”
02 “Too High”
03 “Heaven”
04 “Not Broken”
05 “Screaming Song”
06 “Get Still”
07 “Princess Road Surgery”
08 “Don’t Take Your Light”
09 “Torn & In Ashes”

TOUR DATES:
3/26 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
3/27 – Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival
3/29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
3/31 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room
4/01 – Washington, DC @ Atlantis
4/02 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
4/03 – Boston, MA @ Sinclair
4/04 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
4/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
4/07 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe
4/08 – Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch
4/09 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
4/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
4/11 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall *
5/28 – Liverpool, UK @ Arts Club
5/29 – London, UK @ EartH
5/30 – Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms
5/31 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenBurg (Cloud Nine)
6/02 – Turin, Italy @ Spazio211
6/03 – Rome, Italy @ Largo Venue
6/04 – Bologna, Italy @ Express Festival (Locomotiv Club)
6/05 – Milan, Italy @ Unaltrofestival (Magnolia)
6/07 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Festival
6/09 – Madrid, Spain @ Sala El Sol
6/12 – Porto, Porgugal @ Primavera Festival
6/14 – Istanbul, Turkey @ Blind
8/02 – Tasov, Czech Republic @ Beseda Festival
8/03 – Katowice, Poland @ OFF Festival
8/05 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Lille Vega
8/09 – Sicily, Italy @ Ypsigrock Festival
8/11- Cambridge, UK @ Junction 2
8/12 – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny
8/13 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
8/14 – Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre
8/15 – Glanusk Park, UK @ Green Man Festival

* with Mount Eerie

With Trampled By Turtles is out 5/30 on Sub Pop. Read our recent feature on Alan Sparhawk here.