Monday 8 December 2008

Lambchop - OH (Ohio) Album Review


Kurt Wagner and his ever-changing Nashville outfit continue to impress

Ohio: not the most inspiring of US states. This is a perfect breeding ground for Lambchop's peculiarity-driven song writing; always seeking wonder in the mundane. In this case Ohio could be anything, anywhere. From the merits of a favourite pencil (A Hold Of You) to Sharing A Gibson With Martin Luther King Jr – a sublime hybrid of ideas, fusing an obscure dream with feelings of disillusionment - Wagner's idiosyncratic household voyeurism rarely fails to charm. Having faced and dealt with personal tragedy, OH marks a step away from 2006's esoteric Damaged. Kurt Wagner's back "smoking on the patio" and has resumed centre stage. Whereas Damaged was crafted around the piano of Tony Crow, OH was written to be performed solo and reflectively, and the compositions sound stronger for it. The lilting arpeggio of Slipped, Dissolved And Loosed is the highlight of an outstanding record which preserves Lambchop’s lackadaisical blueprint, whilst sounding decidedly reinvigorated.

4/5



Video: A Hold Of You

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