With Bon Iver on banjo and a sumptuous choir, Kurt Wagner continues his wanderings through the finest musical realms of the American continent, navigating through deeply moving intimate tragedies.
“Everything must change so that nothing changes.” This aphorism, heard in The Leopard (1963) by Luchino Visconti, Kurt Wagner seems to have claimed as his own and made into his motto. Alternative country, soul, gospel… the Nashville native has drawn from American music for over thirty years, focusing here on one color, there on an instrument (the piano for the masterpiece Is a Woman in 2002). A matter of balance rather than revolution.
Finally, ten years ago, he nonetheless plunged his distinctive voice into the digital broth of Auto-Tune (Flotus), seeing it as a kind of fountain of youth. Created during the pandemic with guitarist Andrew Broder (Fog) and Ryan Olson, The Bible was at times electro-disco while remaining pure Lambchop.
Stunning Songs
For this seventeenth album, counterintuitive move: Kurt Wagner opts for an antediluvian acoustic setup and, as an unexpected guest star, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver… on banjo. This return to pure, bare songwriting, the Lambchop leader has completely twisted and spiced it up by employing a choir conducted by Blake Morgan.
This vocal ensemble accompanies him, dialogues with him, follows him or precedes him, turning his already stunning songs into deeply moving intimate tragedies, from Weakened to The New World Wave. It is sometimes as beautiful as Beach Boys-like folk, as on No Chicago where Kurt Wagner recedes behind these talented backing vocalists.
Punching the Clown (City Slang/PIAS). Release on August 21.
