Lamb - Lamb (CD)

All Music Guide

Using the post-modern torch music of Portishead as a foundation, Lamb spins out into new sonic territories on its eponymous debut album. The group sports a heavier techno influence, incorporating the buzzing rhythms of drum'n'bass into their music in particular, yet they cut their modernistic electronic influences with a dark sense of melodicism. Most of the album is devoted to jazzy songs that are broken apart by Andrew Barlow's synthesizers and sampler, and are anchored by Louise Rhodes' seductive vocals, which prevent the electronics from becoming cold. It's sophisticated urban music, one that's miles away from the avant-garde sensibilities of Tricky and the haunted romanticism of Portishead, or even the pop leanings of Sneaker Pimps and the soul-inflected grooves of Morcheeba. Instead, Lamb is classy, detached and cool -- a more club-oriented and less melodic variation of Everything But the Girl's Walking Wounded. Although Lamb may run a little long, it's one of the more hypnotic b...y-products of trip-hop yet released. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read more Less