Nixon

Meh

I do enjoy the soothing sound of this music. It feels like maybe it was recorded in 1969, but then it has a few humorously startling phrases to break that spell (e.g. "And decapitate a rodent or a mouse.") The song titles are all delightful. I love the full instrumentation. Vibraphone! On first listening, this music sometimes slipped into the background. Giving it a more focused listen, I really appreciated it. My list of favorite songs keeps getting longer. I will thus single out "Nashville Parent" as a song that has everything I love about this album.

I have not heard of Nixon before. So, this was a first listen for Lambchop. It was okay for me. There was nothing offensive to me, but there was also nothing all that interesting for me. There were a few moments when my ears perked to a catchy musical lick only to have the entire composition just fade into the background.

Maybe this is a slow burn and with a few more listens I would love it. I really loved Up With People from its first hand-claps and thought during the first listen there was another song that I liked a lot. But on the second listen I realized it was just another version of Up With People. The rest was fine but nothing else particularly grabbed me. Nice and mellow though.

I have never heard of Lambchop, but the album cover for NIXON made me very happy, so I was excited to put this record on. Turns out the cover is a great representation for what's inside. Quirky, inscrutable, but so pleasant. I loved the orchestral easy listening sound and the lyrics - even though I often had no idea what they meant. Felt like what Burt Bacharach might compose if he were really, really stoned. Highlights: "The Old Gold Shoe" - who starts an album like this? I appreciate the confidence of making such a laid back track the opener. "Grumpus" is one of my favorites on the album. I really wanted to be drinking a pink squirrel in a dark lounge while this was playing. SOOO nice! "Be square and kind to all your friends Stop staring through the bitter lens." This song has advice I can use. "You Masculine You" made me laugh immediately as the title juxtaposes with the falsetto delivery. But it is oh so lovely. "Up With People" felt like... an Up With People concert? The clapping, the backing choir, the happy music... uplifting! "Nashville Parent" had me floating on a very strange cloud where I observed neighbors fighting, owls decapitating rodents, spit on my chest, and a fiberglass funny face on the wall. I love being made so comfortable and happy while having no idea what is going on. "What Else Could It Be?" could be the easy listening version of a Bee Gees song with its lush violins and falsetto performance. I loved the ending. "The Distance From Her To There" had a real country feel that I loved. The steel guitar, the vibraphone - oh yes! "The Book I Haven't Read" is a lovely love song - the only one I can think of with the word 'disgusting' in it. I wish it were written for me. "The Petrified Florist" with its clever title is one of the darker songs on the album... definitely sensed some tension here. "The Butcher Boy" followed up with a really dark story. Because it seemed to make perfect sense I wondered if my brain had been reprogrammed ... then I had a look at the credits on Wikipedia and realized that this was an old traditional American folk song. The Apple Music credits show the writer as Lambchop since they did take liberties with the traditional song. Really unique take on this. NIXON's inscrutability doesn't bother me because the music is so nice and the singer so approachable - kind of a cross between Cat Stevens and Barry Gibb. The lyrics often felt like another instrument to me - when they didn't make sense I was satisfied with the sounds they made and the feelings they evoked. NIXON is a strange, wonderful place where I feel warm, welcome and comfortable that I will revisit often.

Interested album. Heavy Leonard Cohen vibes, but I enjoyed the music a bit more. Not my go-to, but didn't hate it.

Lambchop? Never heard of them. But, you know what? I really like it. It is an interesting sound. I don't think it feels country or even alternative country at all. I think the songs seemed a big on the dull side the first time I heard it but they really started growing on me. The tone and feeling of the album is quite nice. Lyrically, it sounds like a hodgepodge of nonsense at times, but if you read between the lines you can get of gist of what they are saying (sometimes). Interesting none-the-less. I'm giving it only a 2/5 for now, but I am sure that will go up with further listens.

Like if Burt Bacharach started doing heroin

The best of this album IMO: - Grumpus - The Butcher Boy Boring... Not my thing at all... I usually love falsetto voices but this one is awful. There better be a Gorillaz album (my favorite band) in this list because I don't understand how Nixon can be in the top 1001. 1.4/5

A sweet surprise. A candid voice singing delicious songs. Loved the guitar tune and chorus. I am adding some of these songs to my personal playlists now!

This sounded amazing… heard a lot of chatter about this album in the early noughties; never explored. I will now.

SHACK. I want to give it 5 stars for the lamby goodness, but I just can't.

My first thoughts whilst listening to this record were that it's very easy to forget it's playing. Like when you're just sat at home on a Tuesday evening and you pop a bit of hardcore porn on, just for company. Isn't it sweet that Bang Bros is a family run company?

Q. What does SHACK eat for breakfast? A. Lamb chops.

@SHACK, @SHACK, @SHACK, @SHACK, @SHACK, @SHACK, @SHACK, @SHACK, @SHACK. SHACK LOVES LAMBCHOPS.

listenable, but not something i'd come back to

It's an album. Apparently I listened to most of it but I'm not really sure when that took place. Nothing stood out and I wouldn't go back to it.

Pleasant enough but nothing special. A great example of a 'fine' album, no standout tracks in one way or another and it mostly faded into the background.

I would like to listen to this again

Saw the album cover and the band name, thought "Ohhh a potential metal band?" It was not a metal band. Just fine, is how I think I'd describe this album, didn't really hit it off with me.

This album wasn't at all what I expected, and I still am not sure whether that's a good or bad thing! A pleasant enough listen that I don't think does enough for me to make it a favourite.

I like the classical instrumentation and am very much enjoying the chill vibes of this album. I was initially thinking it might be a 4 for this album, but as it turned out I was not excited enough by any of the songs specifically. It is a strong 3 from me but I am not going to put this album on again any time sun

Wikipedia lists the genre of this album as "Countrypolitan," which is a cursed word that should not exist. After listening to this guy's falsetto, the jury is out on the band itself as well. Best track: Up with People

Found this very weird. The vocals rubbed me the wrong way, and that was even before the super weird supplemental vocals kicked in on some of the songs.

This is the soundtrack of white people Twitter.

A load of absolute nothing and I hate his voice.

Bored the tits off me

I don't get it. The arrangements are elaborate enough and the band (backed by a small orchestra it would seem) played them them perfectly. The production is slick and polished. The vocals are full of nicotine soaked rasp. The lyrics are dense and feel like short stories or letters read outloud. But the music just lacks anything to connect to. Each song just sort of lilts into the next. The emotional register of each song is perfectly uniform, bordering on monotone. Funny enough, "What Else Could It Be?" is like the one song I felt something with, and it's the one where the vocalist is singing in a screeching falsetto that seems two modulations higher than the vocalist dares belong. Yet, it kinda worked for me. So, what am I missing? Why is this album on the list?

Er zit vast meer achter maar de muziek is aardig. Ik ga er nog eens naar luisteren

delicate, breathy vocals, spacious yet rich countrypolitan/americana arrangements with lush strings, a reflective, thoughtful album. I'm less keen on the falsetto songs.

Great turn-of-the-millenium rock album, reminds me of The National

Luuugn rock

3.5 Never heard this before and kinda dug it.

Never listened to this before, though I'm familiar with the cover of this album. That said the cover, and perhaps the name had me expecting something a lot closer to early 2000s pop punk and I'm glad that's not what I got.

Now see that's an interesting album. "Up With People" has popped up on some of my other playlists. While I'm not sure it's something I'd turn to regularly, I might put it on again. I liked the layering of tracks, subtle brass and string sections, non-predictable lyrics, and groovy licks. That all makes for an unexpectedly enjoyable album to listen to versus, say, The Triffids. Surprised to learn they were out of Nashville.

“After rejecting the names REN, Pinnacles of Cream, and Turd Goes Back, the band settled on Lambchop…”

Didn't enjoy

I purchased this on the back of the Zero 7 remix of Up With People, a Gilles Peterson staple on Worldwide at the time. None of the record sounded like the remix, of course. But, I liked it, even though it was distant to my tastes. Revisiting it now, it's a very pretty record. Gets better towards the end.

2.5

Had to bail out. No tempo - wasn’t doing it for me

22nd September 2021 Listened on my phone on the way out to an early birthday dinner with jen at an incredible Italian restaurant. I had heard of lambchop through Andy but hadn't properly listen to them and assumed they were super heavy but I didn't think they'd be this relaxing indie mellow band. Loved it.

Lots of strings and a very chill vibe throughout, and the singer has a very unique voice that grew on me through the listen. It was good, but mostly background sound instead of something that compelled me to keep listening.

Had potential to be a five star find a la Elbow but never quite got there

Musikjournalisten, die dies, wie der Schreiber vom NME, für "sheer sonorous delight" halten, sollten sich dringend einen anderen Job suchen, da es ihnen an der dafür essenziellen Urteilsfähigkeit mangelt - und vielleicht als Kinderbuchautor reüssieren. Das Songwriting auf diesem Album ist so nichtssagend, dass es schon wieder ärgerlich ist. Die ungekonnte Kopfstimme macht es auch nicht besser.

alright, kinda makes me feel like an old man 3 or 4 stars because its not bad easy listening just kinda bad in general.

6.95/10

I have no opinion on this other than it doesn't really trip my trigger.

I get excited when I see a short album with only 10 songs. But each song averaging around 5:30min kills that excitement almost immediately. So far every song sounds like it could be used as an intro song in a Netflix/Amazon Prime/HBO Max/AppleTV Drama Series Honestly, very boring

Maybe I wasn't quite doing the album justice. But having it playing in the background, I never felt like it stood out in a positive way at any point. Just pleasant background music flowing along. Sounding more good than bad, but very uneventful. The song that stood out most was the final track. And I didn't particularly like it.

Quite enjoyed it, especially early on

this is weird but also somehow pleasant? this is basically room music for me. its more just boring and strange.

It's ok, not as country as I thought it might be which is good.. 'Up with People' is a nice one, otherwise a bit bland in places

3.5

Relaxing but still upbeat alt-country. I think Lambchop got more interesting later on but there's no denying that that started here.

Great for insomniacs

6/10 listenable but i wouldn't really care to listen again. quality varied wildly between songs

5/10. Fairly boring as best as I could tell

So boring and generally rough vocals throughout. 4

An interesting sound. Light rock with a bit of mushy tempo.

I am not sure what this was. The music is interesting and sweeping at times, though the vocals seems to alternate between a whispering falsetto and spoken word. I actually like the music, though the singing seems to detract from the vibe instead of enhancing it. Still, i don't actually dislike it, so a straight-up 3 seems to fit.

A strange combination of country and soul, lush orchestration, impenetrable lyrics and Kurt Wagners irritating singing voice (especially that falsetto). The album is well produced and carefully arranged but the overall result is just not all that memorable.

Modern easy listening. Pretty bland, Petrified Florist is the best track but it's not enough that I'd listen again.

I don't like this very much

Interesting, would need another listen to really get a grip of it I feel.

Not bad

Slick grand and well structured indie rock. I am surprised how much I enjoyed this album. Instantly reels you in.

I enjoyed this album it was a little too mellow but interesting listen. 3.5 stars

Ok

Interesante. Música relajada para escuchar mientras hago otra cosa.

My favourite ‘chop

I don't get the "universal acclaim" for this album. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough?

Plenty here that’s interesting, but they’d get a higher adjusted r-squared if they removed a few variables. 2.5 stars

A great story telling album. Each piece is connected to the next and the ones after. The lyrics in this album are the main aspect to be listening for, but the backing track cannot be ignored either. It portrays the emotion it wants to nearly perfectly. My only gripe is that the falsetto the singer does isn't that great. Favorite track: Nashville Parent

leichter, funky sound. Spannendes Konzept-Album mit passender klanglichen Entwicklung über das gesamte Album. Kein Titel der wirklich heraus sticht, aber viele schöne Melodien bei denen meist der Text in den Hintergrund geriet. Den klanglichen Höhepunkt erreicht das Album mit petrified florist. Nicht gefallen sind Gesangsabschnitte mit einer fast Kleinkind artigen Stimme. 3,5

At first I didn't like it too much, but as the album progressed it got more alike songs I would listen to, so overall I enjoyed it

It started off strong, but it wasn't that great. It's not that it was bad, but it wasn't really my thing. I hear a lot of Bowie in the singer's voice, but it still didn't interest me. Highlights: 1, and 2.

I really wanted to like this album more, but it was just missing any real musical depth. The instrumentals felt the same from beginning to end, and they weren't memorable enough for that to be a good thing.

A really beautiful album. Like a warm hug. Lyrical, melodic.

Listened to this whole album while playing Snowrunner, and it's a very good match for the vibe. 4/5

If Tom Waites, Leonard Cohen, and Smokey Robinson had a baby.

Just didn’t like it.

C'était ma dernière critique à rattraper avant celle du mariage de Charles que j'écrirai si tout se passe bien sous Channel Orange.

I would say a 3.5

yes.

Album ima ljetnu auru. Mnogo instrumenata se može naći na albumu, a ja mislio da ulazim u nu metal album. Dakle više je bazirano na chamber pop/rocku sa nekim dost dobrim stvarima. Kroz album postoje 2 vrste vokala, skvičavi i normalni, e sad jesu to drugačiji likovi ili jedan lik? Ne znam. You Musculine You, Grumpus, Nashville Parent dost dobre pjesme pogotovo YMY.

Hated it at the time. Hate it now.

emchs tu commences serieusement a me les briser, 3/5

Mieux que ce que j'aurais pensé. Assez doux. Fav : Nashville Parent : ressemble à un son de King Crimson (genre the wind je sais pas quoi) + The butcher boy (live) :jolie !

What is this doing on the list? Bland and boring. Meh.

Musically, it sounds okay. My main issue with this album is that I have read all the lyrics and listened multiple times and I have no idea what the album is about. The lyrics are nonsensical and the vocals are murky. Too many metaphors. Definitely not a "fun" album. I can't think of any song I like on the album, but it is good enough to put in the background I guess. It doesn't actively annoy me is I treat the vocals as sounds rather than words.

Very pretty chamber pop with a bit of a country feel to it. Beautiful orchestral arrangements. Feels like it falls somewhere between Neil Young and Neil Diamond. If there isn't a guy named Neil in the band I will be thoroughly disappointed.

Few good songs. Ok album

Nixon is a wildly uneven album, oscillating between gentle country inflected pop and ill advised forays into Philly soul, but that doesn't even begin to describe how strange it is. On the country inflected pop songs, singer Kurt Wagner sounds a lot like Dean Wareham from Luna, who in turn took his cues from Lou Reed. He can be modestly effective in this mode, as in the opener, The Old Gold Shoe. But his falsetto, as on You Masculine You, is to die for, meaning it makes you want to die. And when he launches into a curdled attempt at Philly soul, as in What Else Could It Be?, I imagine flocks of birds dying in mid-air and plummeting to the ground like so many hailstones as an appropriate response. Then there are the arrangements. They are painstakingly worked out and quite involved, featuring a conventional core band, strings, horns, vibraphone, touches of atmospheric distortion, even a full on choir, but rarely has so much effort resulted in so little reward. Most of the way through Nixon, the arrangements and performances are quite gentle and the music tends to glide through one ear and out the other, leaving no trace. But at times, Lambchop allows a bit of distortion or some grungy guitar to bleed through, adding some much needed edge. It's hard to know what to make of all this. Clearly, Lambchop is capable of making listenable music. If they had spun out variations on pop numbers with a veneer of country, tempered by some grunge guitar and distortion, they might have come up with a modest, low key success. As it is, whatever is modestly effective is overshadowed by horrific, cringe-worthy attempts at Philly soul.

A pretty album. Easy to listen to, nice compositions, but left little impact on me. The title and cover art imply it's a heavily political album but I ended up sort of drifting away to the sweet melodies. This one is interesting because it's kind of tinged with country/alt-country but it lands on a more pop sound with hints of soul. It's a unique sound and I like how it's developed over time. Reminds me of Magnolia Electric Co., but Jason Molina is untouchable. Lambchop will have to sit comfortably in that shadow.

I would give this another listen.

"The guy on the cross is holier than I But then again he's made from plastic" (The gold old shoe)

3/5

I like the overall sound, but honestly, nothing strikes me. Good to find other stuff from, because it was close to scratching an itch.

I enjoyed this

NO lo tengo claro. Es raro

I can appreciate the music of this album and how carefully crafted it is, but it was on the whole maybe a bit too relaxing to listen to.... still kinda good though Favorite tracks: “Up With People,” “Nashville Parent,” and “Butcher Boy”

I was not expecting to absolutely love this. But I do, and I’m very pleased about it

Wow that was dreadfully boring and monotonous. The last song was the only redeeming quality.

Anther huge meh by this list...

Muy igual pero ahí masó menos.

ok, this band, and album was one i couldn't get into. it was just trying so hard to to be out there, and trippy for the sake of it, and didn't come off at all well to me. they had like a kind of...elevator music feel to it, and while i didn't outright like it, i didn't hate it either, it just kinda felt like it's great to put on in the background.

me at the beginning: oh, this is interesting me 3 tracks in: this fuckin' guy i did like the final track, though - butcher boy. that was alright

This is ok, it’s just sort of bland. It’s like the Carpenters without strong vocals. I did enjoy some of the horns and strings. Ironically it reminds me of an artist I really love, Spottiswoode and His Enemies. Similar style, similar instrumentation, but Spottiswoode is so much more interesting. 2 stars.

Maybe a bit boring for me, but I appreciate the humanity of the music - you can really hear a person in it. By chance, Lambchop happened to drop an album on the day I listened to this - 5/21/21, and the sound and feel are largely the same, except for his more recent embrace of auto tune.

Escuché una rola y no pude más. No es cierto, pa que vean el nivel de compromiso: me chuté toda esta chingadera completa

Me terminó gustando

I don’t really know what I just listened to and I’m not even mad about it

Kinda stinky

Right off the bat I can tell that the vocal style isn't gonna work for me. Maybe with a different singer I could get down with this but I just can't take it seriously. In fact I find it positively annoying.

I know of Lampchop from the Mr. M album, which I think I listened to cause of a Pitchfork review. First two tracks on this album I enjoyed, but as it went on some things didn't do much for me. I think I like his voice, but sometimes the falsetto is too much, in small doses I like it but, the way it's used gets a bit annoying.

Not sure what to call the genre. They sing, maybe light mellow pop? Pretty simple guitar/drum backing.

sounds good.

Really good!

Not bad, kind of forgettable.

This album has already faded from my memory and I listened to it yesterday

Interesting album. Gets a bit repetitive later on, and the last song is questionable as fuck, but overall very interesting. Closer to a 3.7 maybe.

It was impossible to tell what this was by the cover. And it's like a modern version of folk rock, hurrah. What a hilariously over-represented genre in this list. I'd be outright laughing if this album wasn't such a snoozefest. 2/5