Search - Lamb :: Between Darkness

Blip-hop perfection

charlotte | minneapolis, MN United States | 11/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lamb could not have selected a better title for their fourth studio release `Between Darkness and Wonder'. The British duo clearly have found such a space within their own sound. Teetering between intense joy and excruciating sadness, Lamb seemingly have found a place more human then most electronic based acts are prepared to journey, which makes them not only unique in sound but precious as well. Since their 1997 self titled debut, Lamb has evolved into a skin so distinct that despite their indie level status (and extremely poor American press packaging) it is sure to be remembered long after they are gone. Singer Lou Rhodes' vocals are spine chilling, lush and smokey sweet (her work on `Till the clouds clear is jaw dropping stunning) and blip master Andy Barlow's programing is ground breaking and remains unmatched in uniqueness. Lamb fans will not be disappointed by this album. `Between Darkness and Wonder' is, however, much different then anything the band has ever previously released. In all other Lamb releases there is a sharp contrast in personal style between Barlow and Rhodes (which of course works to their advantage) but on `Between Darkness and Wonder' they seem to have finally infected each other with their own musical agenda's. The album contains a unity that we have never heard from Lamb before and let me be the first to say it is most definitely good. It seems through working on the same page Barlow and Rhodes have somehow inspired each other to push harder to things they have strayed away from in the past. Barlow's programing has more humanity then anything we have ever heard from him before and at times Rhodes' voice seems to be an electronic blip in itself.
`Between Darkness and Wonder' is defiantly a must own (one can only imagine how much fun they had putting this one together). Even if you read my review and think it is useless buy this cd, the songs; Stronger, Till the clouds clear, Open up and Sugar 5 will pay for it 100,000,000 times over. P.S, if you already have the Remix of Gabriel by Nelle Hooper, don't bother buying the extended version. The MJCole remix sounds like something Oakenfold would do and the funkstrong version of Heaven isn't really Heaven, it's What sound and not very good."

Not as good as I'd hoped

Simon Booth | UK | 03/04/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So the US finally gets Lamb's 4th album, about a year after it came out in the UK and without the 3 bonus tracks of the UK release. Oh well, better that than never :)Having had quite some time to get to know the album, I've still not really grown fond of it. I find that Lamb are like that - on first listen each album might not seem so special, but the more you listen to it and get to know the songs the more special it becomes. However, I've found that since their stunning debut album each successive release has taken longer to appreciate and still not quite reached the same heights. It may be that in time I'll really grow to love Darkness & Wonder, but so far I just think it's OK.The album is definitely Lamb's mellowest effort to date - part of what makes the band so interesting is the extreme contrast between the styles and interests of the two main members - Andy is into full on drum and bass experimentalism and Louise is into much mellower and more melancholy material. The mix and interaction of these two elements is what makes their best songs so interesting. On BD&W it seems that Andy has taken something of a back seat and the material is more of a showcase for Louise's style and interests. The beats still have a place but there's nothing as frantic or schizophrenic as the classic COTTON WOOL, for instance.The songs are still well written, but the album is a little too... tranquil, for my tastes, overall. It works well as background music or music to fall asleep to, but when I put it on at work it usually slips so much into the background that I forget I'm listening to it.Still a good album, and one that may even win them new fans, but I don't think it's of the same interest level as their first, second or third CDs."

Too much lamb, not enough wolf

Bertrand Stclair | new york, new york United States | 12/31/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe it should be only three stars, not four. Undoubtedly, there are some gorgeous tunes on this album. "Angelica" and "Wonder" are superlative, for instance. However, whether this is progress for the duo, as has been suggested, is a trickier proposition. With their first two albums, conjuring a mood out of a variety of dark types of music, among them drum-and-bass, trip hop, and acid jazz, Lamb created a perfectly original sound: trademark vocals over very sparse core composed primarily of powerful and inventive beats, a prominent upright bass, and strident wind instruments. The band occupied its own musical space. Beginning with "What Sound," they gave up that space and stepped into a far more densely populated arena, where Moby, Everything But the Girl, and so many others compete to lay down ravishing pop hooks imbued with electronic magic. You might call this a process of beautification, which began with "What Sound": Lamb now floats tender melodies over lavish keyboards and acoustic guitars, and, as if to emphasize the rosy atmosphere, throws in some surprisingly optimistic - and trite - lyrics about us all being one and not having to worry about dying, and so forth. Inevitably, there are drawbacks to this new stance: once you abandon a certain harsh musical independence and begin to sound as if you were vying, with a kerjillion others, for a chart hit, you necessarily expose yourself to comparison. About half of this album compares favorably with everyone else in the field, the other half does not. I've always loved Lamb's instrumentals, and "Angelica" is possibly the most memorable tune on the CD. But the loveliness begins to peter out with "Sun" and gradually becomes too bland to register. Some of the last songs on the CD, to folky foursquare rhythm, sound like something you might hear done much better by Beth Orton. I've been listening to "Between Darkness..." repeatedly, with utter enjoyment, but cannot remember most of it. To say that I've not been deeply affected by it, as I was by "Lamb" and "Fear of Fours," would be an understatement. Too much lambness, not enough teeth."