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Lambchop

Showtunes

Album number sixteen from the Nashville alt country outfit led by Kurt Wagner takes inspiration from musical theatre

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
City Slang / Merge
UK Release date
21/05/2021
US Release date
21/05/2021
  1. 10.0 |   God Is In The TV

    It draws on the very best of the tradition it alludes to, while playfully subverting it. It’s rare to hear music at once so experimental and also so entirely pleasurable – fleeting moments rendered immortal
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  2. 9.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Three decades in, it would’ve been so easy to play it safe; it seems clear from the experimental triumph of Showtunes that, thankfully, Lambchop just don’t know how
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  3. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Another fascinating entry in the ever-evolving Lambchop spectrum, all slow texture, repurposed approaches and augmented familiarity
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  4. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Showtimes weaves its magic, maintaining its mysterious atmosphere throughout. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Kurt Wagner's appetite for change hasn't dwindled, and Lambchop's succinct 16th is, thanks to his MIDI piano experiments, particularly tempting. Print edition only

  6. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Kurt Wagner puts a midi keyboard centre stage on Lambchop’s expansive, laid-back latest
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  7. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    On the 16th album by what once was Nashville’s most fucked-up country band, frontperson/hat enthusiast Kurt Wagner makes the most of Covid distance with a beautiful, if too-brief, experiment in gentleness and guitarlessness
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  8. 7.8 |   Beats Per Minute

    He may not draw in many new fans from this one-act performance, but it’s still one of the band’s most intriguing and well-executed productions nonetheless
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  9. 7.5 |   Under The Radar

    Wagner continues to mine a vein of mournful gentleness but can’t help but continue to chop and quarter as he goes, which only ups the interest in revisiting the album. Because it is always best when you paint with all the colors
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  10. 7.4 |   Pitchfork

    Following a string of albums deconstructing Lambchop’s sound, Kurt Wagner continues to reinvent his band, this time using MIDI-assisted piano melodies to write love songs to music itself
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  11. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Boldly performed and exciting
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  12. 7.0 |   All Music

    The album puts too much emphasis on its cool side rather than the warmth that truly elevates the music, but there is more than enough beauty and empathy here to make this well worth your time and attention
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  13. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    There are flickers and wisps of abstract sound, like ghosts or dust bunnies in the chambers of his mind


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