Lady Lamb is a novelty in the flesh. It’s only Spaltro’s second time trying out the loftiness of a studio album, but After pushes her to refine and redesign with grace.
On After, Spaltro shines as a songwriter who doesn’t shy away from pairing her prose with out-there arrangements.
Lady Lamb’s After is a life-loving, life-affirming treasure. Twelve songs of innocence and experience from beyond the realm of the senses.
Lady Lamb is playful without being silly, serious without weighing down her music, and impressionistic without being oblique; she can express herself and make her music work in the studio without seeming pretentious or gazing into her navel.
As Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Spaltro feels like she’s still developing her craft as a songwriter. Her homemade, casual approach, combined with her off-kilter way with words and melodies, make her one of the most original voices to come out of this decade.
There are plenty of startling moments full of guts and gristle in Lady Lamb's dense lyrics, and then there are the moments when she wanders.
‘After’ is personified by her ragged, powerful voice, under which she picks, thrashes and strums riffs that mostly sound just as full of character.
Its flavour of free association – both lyrically and musically – is a great strength to its high spots, but can leave passages feeling ungrounded or directionless. The songs can feel swift, but the whole album certainly feels like its hour.
I remember going to a Decemberists concert and her being the opening act using songs from this album that had just come out at the time. It captured me so much that I had to get a picture with her and buy the album there. Since then she's become one of my favorite artists out there.
Underrated and overlooked. Honest, gripping and palpable songwriting with some really great vocals.
1 | Vena Cava 3:52 | |
2 | Billions of Eyes 5:10 | |
3 | Violet Clementine 4:44 | |
4 | Heretic 4:13 | |
5 | Sunday Shoes 5:18 | |
6 | Spat Out Spit 4:28 | |
7 | Penny Licks 5:10 | |
8 | Dear Arkansas Daughter 5:52 | |
9 | Milk Duds 3:09 | |
10 | Ten 4:45 | |
11 | Batter 2:50 | |
12 | Atlas 6:04 |
#10 | / | Newsweek |
#20 | / | Consequence of Sound |