Lambchop - Flotus - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

In late 2019, Kurt Wagner was experimenting with something new, something that would eventually reveal itself as Lambchop's Showtunes. By taking simple guitar tracks and converting them into MIDI piano tracks, InchSuddenly I discovered I could 'play' the piano,Inch he says. InchIt was a revelation that from those conversions, I was able to manipulate each note and add, subtract, arrange the chords and melody into a form that didn't have any of the limitations I had with my previous methods of writing with a guitar.Inch Removing these limitations led to a surprising new sound, something akin to show tunes but with edges sanded down and viewed through Kurt's own specific lens. InchIn general, it's a genre I was none too fond of,Inch he admits, Inchwith the exceptions of a few Great American Songbook-type of stuff or some of the works of artists like Tom Waits or early Randy Newman or even Gershwin or Carmichael. I'd always wanted to make songs with a similar feel, but my skills were limited until now.InchInchNow that the door reopened up, I realized that anything is possible given time and space to do it,Inch Kurt says. This led to the addition of one more key player, an effortlessly natural fit and one that for many will feel overdue. For the first time, longtime friend and collaborator James McNew of Yo La Tengo joins on upright bass. InchFor as long as I've known him, James McNew has been a like-minded artist and one who I've dreamed of working with,Inch Kurt says. InchThis seemed like the right fit for what he does, and he graciously agreed to be part of this creation. For many years, I've longed for what an upright bass could add to our sound. Now with that, this work was complete.Inch Album Tracks 1. A Chef's Kiss 2. Drop C 3. Papa Was a Rolling Stone Journalist 4. Fuku 5. Unknown Man 6. Blue Leo 7. Impossible Meatballs 8. The Last Benedict

What Another Man Spills - Lambchop - What Another Man Spills is a 1998 album by Lambchop. The cover art was drawn by Vic Chesnutt. The band may have successfully evolved from a sort of chamber-country group into a smoky soul outfit, but Lambchop isn't likely to lose the InchweirdInch tag any time soon. Much like it's predecessor, Thriller, What Another Man Spills is split between covers and Wagner's moody originals; the record could easily be a product of the same sessions that produced Thriller. Wagner and crew pay tribute to songwriters as disparate as Curtis Mayfield (InchGive Me Your Love (Love Song)Inch) and James McNew (of Yo La Tengo and Dump; he contributes InchIt's Not AlrightInch), and, as on Thriller, Wagner rescues a pair of songs from East River Pipe's F.M. Cornog, who is sadly lost somewhere in major-tag hell. As usual, Lambchop is a full-on low-key orchestra (14 members strong, excluding special guests and strings), a controlled mess of sonic elements ranging from chiming percussion to mournful guitars to restrained, mostly brushed drums Album Tracks 1. Interrupted 6 10 2. The Saturday Option 4 40 3. Shucks 5 13 4. Give Me Your Love (Love Song) 5 17 5. Life#2 4 43 6. Scamper 6 23 7. It's Not Alright 3 28 8. N.O. 4 28 9. I've Been Lonely for So Long 4 42 10. Magnificent Obsession 3 22 11. King of Nothing Never 3 35 12. The Theme from the Neil Miller Show 2 45

As with 2012's engrossing Mr. M and 2016's staggering Flotus, Kurt Wagner's openness to unexpected collaborators to give his thoughts and feelings the shape they need was central to the creation of This (is what I wanted to tell you). In the summer of 2017, Wagner re-met Matthew McCaughan, who has spent the last decade drumming for the likes of Bon Iver and Hiss Golden Messenger. McCaughan told Wagner he had been adventuring inside the world of rack-mounted analogue synthesizers and asked if Wagner might send some vocals to which he could compose. They became instant musical pen pals, with Wagner sending him a cappella takes of new song ideas and McCaughan dispatching long-form synthesizer pieces for inspiration. McCaughan eventually headed to Nashville, where, together, they put a band behind the songs, using pedal steel and piano and the harmonica of Nashville legend Charlie McCoy to color in the spaces of these black-and-white sketches. Album Tracks 1. Crosswords, or What This Says About You 2. Everything for You 3. The Lasting Last of You 4. The Air Is Heavy and I Should Be Listening to You 5. The December-Ish You 6. This Is What I Wanted to Tell You 7. Flower