Lamb
Lamb

THE REVIEW

I often wonder what the point is of reviewing albums that came out a long time ago…

The answer comes naturally when thinking a bit about the need, which we all have to some extent, known as the "white wall syndrome" and a bit from the fact that (often) small gems are culpably forgotten.

This is the case of the self-titled debut (called the "Debut Album" by fans due to the band that covered the original release) of the Manchester duo, which has not only not yet been reviewed by anyone belonging to the species "DeBaseriana", but it even finds very little space on other sites, both national and international. This, besides being a shortcoming, assumes much stranger contours when considering that the other three albums of the Rhodes-Barlow (artistic) duo have rightly received a beautiful review each on these pages. I will try, then, to dive back into '96 and provide my perspective on the first work of what I consider to be one of the most important projects in electronic music.

The '96, as mentioned… obviously when we talk about "synthetic" music, it's impossible not to remember that during those years there was the dominant (although already declining, in my opinion) phenomenon known as the "Bristol Sound" with Portishead, Massive Attack, and Tricky as the spearheads of a movement characterized by skilled Pop, Jazz, and Drum 'n Bass fusions, all wrapped with the often appealing presence of samples. This fact caused not a few problems for "Lamb", who in fact found themselves (wrongly) labeled even before they were born (How many times have I heard the superficial phrase: "Lamb? Just like Portishead."…).

Yet, from the characteristics of the two members, some uniqueness could already be perceived: Andy Barlow, in fact, was not only a great DJ but also a skilled multi-instrumentalist (a son of art, among other things) raised on bread and Jazz, and the voice of Louise Rhodes was quite atypical as a presence in those years because, quoting a friend of mine, she was "a folk-singer lent to electronics", and her solo work from last year shows it extensively. From these premises, something very particular could only be born: what characterizes the CD above all is the absolute (and seemingly chaotic) dichotomy between obsessive rhythms that are almost jungle and the refined presence of the melodic line of the singing that often touches pop. Just listen to "Cotton Wool" or "Lusty" to realize it.

Among rhythmic acrobatics (but never "without a Net", i.e., very controlled) and melodies that are nonetheless always very clear and structured, what emerges is a certain melancholy (the magnificent opening of "Gorecki"!) that makes the whole environment in which the songs move dark and mysterious, but not sad (unlike, for example, the self-titled album by Portishead) but simply suspended in a dimension where at first you find yourself caught between the choice of being charmed by Rhodes's unconventional voice or Barlow's strange loops. Due to this difficulty in following the logical thread at first listen, the album was not initially received very well by either the critics or the public, but it had a sort of posthumous recognition.

Luckily, those who were not frightened by this initial challenge soon realized, after continued listening, that they had something special on their hands. It's impossible not to be hypnotized by songs like "Transfatty Acid", where without overstating the experimentation (indeed, it can proudly be defined as a-experimental) Barlow creates synthetic rhythms in which warmth can often be caught, enhanced by a Rhodes who plays between being very intrusive ("Gold" is a clear example) and sometimes being just an uncommon instrument placed there to complete a project that would otherwise be too minimal. Minimalism that on a distracted listen can be boring, indeed this is not an album to put on while doing something else (like ironing, for example..) but to listen to with the calm with which you handle something fragile, because the ability of the English duo is precisely to package a product that each time seems to implode but in the end always revives almost reassured after being underestimated ("Zero" and especially "Closer" continue to give me this impression). In short, if I have to give it a label, I would say a kind of "Fragile Unconventional Trip-Hop" which is narrow but already better than others…

A separate discussion deserves the lyrics, almost all of a romantic genre and aimed at the search (or perhaps, who knows, at the nostalgia) for Love (yes with a capital L) idealized and for a sentimental person like me, falling into the trap was all too easy! The important thing to say, however, is that probably the little fuss created around the album ultimately highlighted its underlying qualities, which are those of trying to surprise with delicacy and keeping in store for more opportune times useless experiments, indeed, seeking the riskier path trying to "avoid the harshest pitfalls."

At one point, Louise sings: "everything I touch is gold", I'm not sure the same can be said about this album, which however risks disappointing many, but certainly there are indeed emotions…