Four years has been the biggest gap between Lambchop albums, but when Kurt Wagner’s gruff, gentle vocal cuts in with the lyric ‘Don’t know what the fuck they talk about’ on the new album’s opening song If Not I’ll Just Die, it’s as if they’d never been away. And just like that particular lyric, Wagner hasn’t paid any mind to what has been happening outside his bubble and dishes up some classic Lambchop on Mr M.
Although Wagner’s vocal delivery is the most distinctive thing about the band’s sound, the strength of Lambchop is giving the voice due space and breaking it up with instrumental breaks, in this case billowing, Disney-like strings. If it sounds a little like someone else pulling the strings while keeping Wagner at the core, there’s a reason for this: Wagner had pulled away from music-making to focus on the visual arts, but was approached by producer/band member Mark Nevin, who pitched a ‘psycho-Sinatra’ concept that deviated from Lambchop’s tried and true method of production.
While the end result doesn’t sound dramatically different to past albums, Mr M has a freshness and directness that sets it level with the band’s best work. Wagner has never sounded better and the string arrangements are gorgeous. It’s also a classic case of absence making the heart grow fonder.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Mr Met
If You Like This, You’ll Like These: Falling Down A Mountain THE TINDERSTICKS, Around The Well IRON & WINE
In A Word: Stately
