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Avg: 3.5 (134 ratings)
- Date Released: October 6, 2008
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Indie Rock
- Label: Merge Records
One of contemporary music's greatest (and most surreal) pleasures returns
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We Say...
After 15 years and nine albums proper of bittersweet alt-country and blue-eyed soul, Nashville's Lambchop have developed into one of the most feted of American cult bands. Led by songwriting genius Kurt Wagner, the collective's muse blends Wagner's grumbled, avuncular, gnomic observations on human weakness and natural beauty with a deceptively gentle big-band music that drifts on an air of resigned melancholy. They've yet to make a bad record, or one that feels that their well of aching happy-sadness is running dry of inspiration. And so its proved by Oh (Ohio), which takes its place alongside 2000's Nixon, 2002's Is A Woman and 2006's Damaged as yet another bonafide Lambchop classic.
With regular collaborator Mark Nevers joined by Lambchop first-timer and Yo La Tengo/Sleater-Kinney producer Roger Moutenot, Oh (Ohio) sees Wagner further embracing his frontman status and defining his unique talent for conjuring a quiet storm of emotions. "Ohio" and "Close Up" are easy-listening gems, "Slipped Dissolved and Loosed" is a shimmering American ballad worthy of Jimmy Webb, and the closing cover of Don Williams's "I Believe In You" is a simple and funny plea for love over modern society. The continuing virtuosity of the band is beautifully evinced by "A Hold Of You," which is a virtual rewrite of Is A Woman highlight "The New Cobweb Summer," and is even more sparse and eerily moving than its predecessor. As always, Wagner deals with death, love, sex and politics as if they were the same funny and heartbreaking things, and being moved to smile and sob by his surreal take on the classic American song remains one of contemporary music's greatest pleasures. -
They Say...
Lambchop may have begun life as "Nashville's most fucked up country band," but with the passage of time the group's country leanings have slowly but surely faded away, and they've grown into perhaps the most singularly pleasurable pop band of their day, mastering a sound that embraces the broad sonic palate of chamber pop and the ambitious experimentalism of indie rock without losing touch with the organic, human voice that informed their early work. OH (Ohio) is Lambchop's tenth proper album, and it finds this band in masterful form; Kurt Wagner and his seven accompanists (with two additional musicians helping out with horns and woodwinds) bring a dazzling sense of grace, balance, and drama to the melodies, and while one senses the size of the ensemble while listening to these songs, there's no clutter or waste in the arrangements, and Lambchop is able to generate a compelling emotional immediacy no matter how broad their musical canvas. While no one will ever accuse Wagner of having a master's vocal range, his plaintive mumbles and mutterings have evolved into a remarkably expressive instrument, projecting a palpable range of hurt, longing, and conviction through his cryptic but genuinely fascinating lyrics. There isn't much in the way of a coherent narrative in songs like "National Talk Like a Pirate Day" or "Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King Jr.," but Wagner communicates with a verbal expressionism that's strong and telling, and he knows how to make his songs work with this gifted band. And just as Michael Peed's cover paintings offer eccentric but potent images of passion and desire, OH (Ohio) is a set of songs that speak about love with a strength that belies their nuanced elegance, and when Lambchop close out the set with a thoughtful and genuine interpretation of the old Don Williams' hit "I Believe in You," it's a gentle reinforcement of all that's gone before on the disc. OH (Ohio) is a singular accomplishment, and it's hard to imagine anyone but Lambchop doing this so well -- or even imagining it at all.
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| 01. |  |
Ohio |
2:24 |
|
| 02. | |
Slipped Dissolved and Loosed |
4:50 |
|
| 03. | |
I'm Thinking of a Number |
6:18 |
|
| 04. | |
National Talk Like a Pirate Day |
5:59 |
|
| 05. | |
A Hold of You |
5:38 |
|
| 06. | |
Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King Jr. |
4:34 |
|
| 07. | |
Of Raymond |
3:02 |
|
| 08. | |
Please Rise |
3:38 |
|
| 09. | |
Popeye |
6:18 |
|
| 10. | |
Close Up and Personal |
3:52 |
|
| 11. | |
I Believe In You |
3:27 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 50:00 Total Length
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Credits
- Jim DeMain - Mastering // Roger Moutenot - Producer // Roger Moutenot - Engineer // Mark Nevers - Producer // Mark Nevers - Engineer // Mark Nevers - Mixing // Denis Solee - Woodwind // Matt Swanson - Bass // Matt Swanson - Group Member // Kurt Wagner - Guitar (Acoustic) // Kurt Wagner - Guitar (Electric) // Kurt Wagner - Vocals // Kurt Wagner - Group Member // Alex McManus - Guitar (Acoustic) // Alex McManus - Guitar (Electric) // Alex McManus - Group Member // Tony Crow - Synthesizer // Tony Crow - Piano // Tony Crow - Wurlitzer // Tony Crow - Group Member // Roy Agee - Trombone // Jonathan Marx - Electronics // Jonathan Marx - Group Member // Marty Slayton - Vocals (Background) // Mark Petaccia - Assistant // Adam Bednarik - Assistant // William Tyler - Guitar (Acoustic) // William Tyler - Guitar (Electric) // William Tyler - Group Member // Ryan Norris - Organ // Ryan Norris - Guitar // Ryan Norris - Vibraphone // Ryan Norris - Loops // Ryan Norris - Electronics // Ryan Norris - Prepared Piano // Ryan Norris - Group Member // Scott Martin - Synthesizer // Scott Martin - Percussion // Scott Martin - Drums // Scott Martin - Group Member // Michael Peed - Paintings
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