REVIEW: Lambchop, Nixon (Merge)
- Christina Apeles
Nixon is what happens when a talented group of friends with a love for music gather rich melodies and altogether impressive songwriting. The orchestrations are exquisite, the lyrics are expressive, and the result is a soulful mix of songs that are seductive.
This release can stand with the best of American Music Club or Smog, with enough pathos to immerse a listener in reverie, but a warmth that makes everything bearable. The thirteen musicians of Lambchop offer a polished collection of songs decorated with tender vocals and numerous instruments ranging from vibraphone to open end wrenches, Rhodes piano to a 1946 Gibson L7 guitar; you're instantly reminded of the limits of three piece outfits, when tunes are as memorable as these.
"The Old Gold Shoe" is the most poignant of tracks, vocalist Kurt Wagner singing such somber lines as "it's certain that something's bound to break inside" and "the whole that you know gets closer to the ground" over a steady tempo of pensive strings. Wagner exercises his falsetto in the groovy "What Else Could It Be," "Up With People" brings The Bobby Jones Gospel Singers to accompany captivating horns and steel guitar for an inspirational tune; while the ominous sound of "Butcher Boy" opens with spoken word, taking you on a journey, with a convoy of drums, horns, and guitar distortion creating the momentum and feel of an a.m. car ride winding through wet, city streets. The arrangements unfold elegantly with every song, absorbed in sentiment, skilled in presentation and a stunning display of lyricism. Lambchop has rhythm, range and most importantly, talent; get Nixon and you get something honest, pure, special.
