Lambchop, the Nashville collective led by the 47 year old Kurt Wagner, have released their latest collection, Damaged. Sparse, poetic, dark and deep, this collection of songs and thoughts reveal that something may not be altogether happy and light within Mr. Wagner’s life at the moment. But it is not a depressing record, just a thoughtful one, illustrating where life for him may be at the moment.

It is another installment of interesting glances at the world, with what sounds like bits of conversation, delivered in that non-singing, talkative method that he uses. Almost cinematic or theatrical in his delivery, Wagner makes you think about the writer, but the words also make you think about life. That is the simplicity, or is it the complexity, of a Lambchop release.

The music that this cooperative has created is more melancholy then say, Nixon (2000). You’ll find nothing like ‘Grumpus’ or “Shang A Dang Dang’ here. But you will get caught up in the words and the textures. As a matter of fact, helping out with the shapes and feel here are Hands Off Cuba, and electronic duo that seem to be another beautiful move by Mr. Wagner.. Keep the headphones handy and delve into the layers of sound that always make up this Lamchop release.

The first song on Damaged is ‘Paperback Bible’. It is a marvelous description of a radio swap show in the US and most of the lyrics are actual quotes from the programme. Descriptions of the simple, the everyday, and we all need working parts to get by. With titles like ‘The Decline Of Country And Western Civilisation’ and ‘The Rise and Fall Of The Letter P’, you have to wonder where Kurt’s mind has wandered. But of course that is the magic of any Lambchop offering. A chance to immerse yourself in ideas and fragments and be washed over by the piano, the glint of pedal steel and the words that make you pause…and think.