Lambchop are from Nashville, but they are miles away from what you could call Country. Instead, they are the closest you can get to the Soul ballads of Curtis Mayfield or Isaac Hayes these days.
Kurt Wagner and his loose collective of muckers look for all the world like a Country outfit. But there’s always been a fine line between Country and Soul down Tennessee way. Two of the key songwriters of Soul - Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham - grew up with Country Music and ended up writing Soul scorchers like ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’ and ‘Dark End Of The Street’.
Hiding behind Wagner’s plaid shirts and dairy co-op caps is a tender, often bitter sweet soul that comes out in ballads like ‘Slipped, Dissolved And Loosed’ and ‘Please Ride’. There is a hint of the Tindersticks here, but Lambchop skirt around much of the opulence and the drama, playing it cool and restrained instead.
Listen To ‘OH (Ohio)’ Here:
When Wagner and his band up the tempo, they can pick up quite a groove. One of my favourite tracks on ‘OH’ is ‘Of Raymond’, a quiet but insistent piano and guitar workout that carries a lot of rhythm. A bit more energetic still is ‘Sharing A Gibson With Martin Luther King’, which doffs a cap at Indie rockers The Smiths of all unlikely inspirations.
Watch Lambchop Perform ‘The One’ Live
Lambchop have a baker’s dozen of albums to their name at this stage. Despite the fluid band line-up, there is a certain sense of comfort and routine about ‘OH’. That makes it a very mellow album, but one that lacks moments that burn themselves into your memory. There’ll be days when I play ‘OH’ and get to the end of it without remembering any of the individual songs.
‘OH’ is predominantly a ‘mood’ album. If you like the melancholia of The Tindersticks or the easy going vibe of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, then you’ll knock good use out of ‘Oh’. It’s fair to say, though, that Billy’s ‘Lie Down In The Light’ from earlier this year has a more sketchy, rawer edge to it. ‘OH’ could have used a bit of that edge.
I’m curious if Kurt and the guys loosen up on stage and strip some polish off their songs. Lambchop are on tour this autumn. Check dates and buy concert tickets online!
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Readers from the UK and Ireland can download ‘OH (Ohio)’ here from iTunes UK.
US Readers, Buy ‘OH (Ohio)’ On CD Here!
UK And Ireland Readers, Buy ‘OH (Ohio)’ ON CD Here!
