Lambchop | Coming to Montreal | Sep 23rd

Do you know how music fans didn't really "discover" The Velvet Underground until about ten years after they had broken up when a bunch of musicians started citing them as a major influence? Well, in 2020, I think the same thing is finally going to happen for Lambchop. Someday, the world will "discover" the genius of Lambchop and their dark, beautiful fusion of country and soul.

Or maybe they won't. What the hell do I know?

Seriously, I've been in love with Lambchop ever since hearing those first "stop whatever you are doing and stare at the stereo" notes from How I Quit Smoking float out of my stereo speakers. Since then, they've released about 9,000 albums with each one providing more and more tunes of sweeping delicate artistry. Yet, they never get any attention and, with ten band members, nobody is getting rich for that excellence. But in 2020, I'm telling ya, it's fat city for whoever is holding the rights to these albums.

Having said all of that, Lambchop will be making a stop on their next tour in Montreal at Le National on Saturday, Sep 23rd. I pretty sure my wife and I will be going up for this one. Maybe make a weekend out of it.

Lambchop will be out supporting two albums. Last spring, they released an album of rarities called The Decline of Country & Western Civilization - Part II: The Woodwind Years (Now, that's a title!) which was surprising because they had released another rarities disc back in
2001 called Tools In the Dryer. Here's the kicker, the first 1,000 copies of Tools in the Dryer included a bonus disc of more rarities. That's three discs of rarities in five years. And the magic is that they are all enjoyable.

The best tracks from The Decline are the alternate upbeat rocking versions of the quiet tunes from How I Quit Smoking like "The Scary Caroler" and "Smuckers". It shows how flexible the large band is when they can completely change the structure and sound of their songs and still produce gems.

The main album Lambchop will be out supporting is their new album Damaged which is due in stores on Aug. 22nd. I've only heard three tracks from it so far and it sounds similar to their last release Aw C'mon/No You C'mon. More sweeping strings than exclamating horns but dazzling nonetheless.

They've also recently released a split EP with Hands Off Cuba that is more electronica than country and probably won't be featured much during this tour. Like I said, they seem to have released a few thousand albums. It's tough to keep track of all of them.

The opening band in Montreal will be Toronto's post-rock outfit Apostle of Hustle.

Songs from The Decline of Country & Western Civilization:
Lambchop | The Scary Caroler
Lambchop | Smuckers

Songs from Damaged:
Lambchop | Beers Before the Barbican
Lambchop | Crackers

Song from the compilation Beyond Nashville: The Twisted Heart of Country Music:
Lambchop | Beyond Belief (Elvis Costello cover)