Cinco de Cordero

Last night I received an air mail parcel from London...the new Lamb, 5.  I had been waiting quite patiently for this to arrive.  Back in January I preordered both the "special limited edition" CD as well as the vinyl LP version.  Yes, I know I am a hopeless fanboy.

The special CD edition, limited to 2800 copies, came in a very nice hardbound book containing not one, but two CD's, several pages of liner notes, and a fold-out poster.  The first CD contains the regular album, which I must say is quite good.  When a band comes back after such a long hiatus there is alot of expectation; I did my best to put my preconceptions aside and give the album a very open listen.  There is no doubt that this is Lamb, but this is no rehash or emulation of what they used to be.  They've shape-shifted, shuffling to one side or another of where they maybe saw themselves want to step.  Songs like Build A Fire and Rounds are just not like anything they've done before.  Some of the songs seem as though they could have used a little more time to simmer; I get the feeling that the creation of this record wasn't rushed, but moved along more quickly than perhaps it should have...or maybe I'm misinterpreting its of-the-moment-ness.  Regardless, 5 is a very diverse and exciting record.  Have a listen to Butterfly Effect...

The second CD contains two more new songs - Dischord, and Back To Beginning which was written and performed with Damien Rice and Carrie Tree.  It also contains alternate versions of several songs - most of which are presented as instrumentals - the vocal tracks stripped out.  There is an acapella version of Strong The Root, and demo version of Rounds.

The pages of the book contain several photos and a brief account of each song.  The photos range from shots of Andy and Lou, to studio equipment, to images that represent elements of the songs.  Lou's notes attempt to let us in on the creative process and meaning behind each of the songs.

 

The fold-out poster is the classic Lamb logo comprised of, in mosaic fashion, the 2800 names of those who preordered the album.  According to Lamb the album was partially funded by us, and while most of us would've been perfectly happy with just having another Lamb record, it was very cool that they went above and beyond to make the packaging and presentation so unique.  It's a keepsake to remind us that we're music nerds and quite proud to be so.  Thank you Lou and Andy!  I am quite happy to be listening to new Lamb.

I am a dork.