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73 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breathtaking, July 9, 2001
Let me start off by saying that Lamb is the best band EVER. Out of the 2,000+ cd's that I own, this one is STILL the most frequently played, and I have had it for three years. Lamb is a complete anomaly. This band offers the interesting combination of Louise Rhodes deeply introspective and tangible vocals, with the choppy percussion and innovative programming of Andy Barlow. You might think that this combination would yield complete sonic chaos, but it does quite the opposite. The marriage of Lou's dreamy vocals to Andy's complex compositions takes the listener on a spiritual journey. The cd opens with "Lusty", which is a very intriguing track. "Lusty" features sparse melodic stabs, a hard percussive backing, and Louise cooing "only you can soothe me, come cool me down..." With that, Louise perfectly conveys the heart and soul of a person in love. And love really IS the theme of this album. "God Bless" features jazzy basslines, seductive beats, and orchestral instruments. It is quite beautiful. "Cottonwool" is perhaps the most breathtaking song I have ever heard. The song is made up of various loops and breakbeats combined with dreamy atmospheric sounds. The effect is eerily beautiful. This coupled with Louise's incredibly profound and soulful lyrics makes "Cottonwool" one of Lamb's best songs. "Transfatty Acid" features weird distortion (it sounds like Lou is singing through a can) and a strange buzzing/electricity type aura. This song makes you feel like you are in another world. "Transfatty Acid" is extremely innovative and the musical effect is mindnumbing. "Zero" is sweet and mellow. It features acoustic guitar and strings and the effect is very powerful. Lou's singing is especially good on this track. "Merge" is strange in that it does not feature Louise's vocals. But it is not a weak track by any means. This track feels like an interlude of sorts, but it is a very refreshing one. This track has a surging bass line which is overlayed with sharp, brassy horns. Then the beats come in fast and feverish, and this song builds into one hell of a climax. This song is exhilerating, to say the least. "Gold" is rather jazzy. It features, what sounds like, an upright bass, combined with sweeping drums, and a marimba(?). It is mellow and soothing, especially following "Merge". "Closer" is the only track that I would deem to be filler, but it is still quite good. It is jazzy, like "Gold" but this has the hard percussive beats that some of the earlier tracks had. "Gorecki" is the heart and soul of this album. This is the best song ever written! In fact, a sliver of it was sung in the new movie "Moulin Rouge" by Nicole Kidman's character Satine. "Gorecki" has the most heartfelt, emotional, honest, passionate lyrics ever written. Louise sings this song so endearingly, that it honestly brings tears to my eyes. This song is a delight musically, as well. It is subdued at first, with soft percussion, and a dreamy, relaxed aura. As the lyrics grow more intense, so does the melody, and the very end of this song absolutely soars. It takes the listener to another plane of existence. It is nothing short of breathtaking, and if you listen to no other song on this album...listen to "Gorecki"! "Feela" is kind of like an experimental, musical trip to a confessional booth. It's as if Louise is singing this song to herself, and the music is very minimal. I equate this song to Madonna's wonderful (but comparatively less inspired) "Mer Girl" on Ray of Light. Now for a word of caution: Do NOT turn off the cd once it goes quiet, or else you will miss the hidden track, which is a remix of "Cottonwool". It is a great remix, too. Definitely worth waiting for! So, basically I recommend that you BUY THIS CD IMMEDIATELY! I think it is the best cd ever recorded, and this is coming from a girl who also happens to be a musician, and the proud owner of over 2,000 cd's. This cd is gold. Trust me.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching..., November 4, 2000
Louise Rhodes' acrobatic little-girl-lost voice and Lamb's sparse background atmospheres dare you to make the inevitable Portishead comparison. It's a mean and dirty trick, though. Scratch the surface and you'll find that Rhodes and instrumental maestro Andrew Barlow have little in common with Bristol's noir-chic contingent. LAMB carves out a strange space for the Manchester duo between the hectic breakbeat bluster of drum n' bass and the jazz-and-blues-inflected chamber folk of Joni Mitchell and John Martyn. Lamb's points of reference are strange but wonderful. Rhodes' delivery combines the traits of a torch singer, an R&B siren, and an acoustic singer/songwriter into a ravishing and complex vocal identity. The very Mitchell-esque "Zero" shivers, bare and beatific, within a minimalist arrangement of cello and electronics. Bounding basslines wrap "God Bless" in the lithe contours of jazz. Vibes serve the same purpose on the frosty "Gold," while blazing trumpet insinuations graze "Closer" and "Merge." Postmodern Classical titan Henryk Gorecki is cited and name-checked in Lamb's staggeringly beautiful extrapolation of the composer's SYMPHONY, NO. 3, OP 36. "Lusty," "Closer," and "Cotton Wool" provide the hyperkinetic drum n' bass rudiments that Fila Brazillia's superlative remix of the latter (an unlisted bonus track) inflates a thousand-fold.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LAMB Kicks Hard!, January 30, 2001
I just got Lamb's self titled cd yesterday and boy does it kick hard. The drum N bass sound is amazingly heavy and structured on "Lusty" and "Cotton Wool". The latter is a perfect display of contrast, yin and yang, muscular drum n bass against beautiful, silky vocals by Rhodes. At first "Cotton Wool" was a bit jolting but sure is interesting. "Zero", "Closer" and "Gold" are smoothe songs with a catchy grooves, especially "Gold". Lamb is definitly not for less adventurous listeners of mainstream music though. I highly recommended Lamb for any trip-hop and jungle fans of Portishead, Bjork, Roni Size and Goldie. An intriguing debut indeed.
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