Aw C'mon

by Lambchop

Overview

After the spare musical textures of Lambchop's 2002 album, Is a Woman, Kurt Wagner and his king-sized chamber pop ensemble have returned to full force with Aw C'mon, the first of two albums the group released on the same day in February 2004. Ambitious, eclectic, and boasting lush string charts performed by the Nashville String Machine (the orchestra-for-hire that has been adding countrypolitian polish to country & western recording sessions since the 1970s), Aw C'mon (as well as its sibling, No, You C'mon) easily trumps Nixon for widescreen musical grandeur, which makes for a lovely if puzzling contrast with the whispered thumbnail sketches of Wagner's lyrics and vocals. Delivered in a craggy murmur and often mixed low enough that one sometimes has to strain to hear them, Kurt Wagner's stories focus on the small details of life's big events rather than the shape of the larger picture, while his music builds an impressive sonic mosaic out of the assorted tones and textures of this 13-piece ensemble and the myriad pop, R&B, and country influences that inform his music. In fact, the album's instrumental cuts, "Being Tyler," "The Lone Official," and "Timothy B. Schmidt," pack nearly as much emotional resonance as most of the vocal numbers, which seems to reinforce the notion that Wagner is going for mood as much as message here. Aw C'mon is lovely, compelling, mysterious, and confounding; it's hard to know just what is supposed to lurk at the core of this music, but Lambchop have given listeners enough fine music that digging to the center is fine and rewarding work. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	02/17/2004
Label:	MERGE RECORDS
UPC:	0036172954025

Tracks

1. Being Tyler
2. Four Pounds in Two Days
3. Steve McQueen
4. The Lone Official
5. Something's Going On
6. Nothing But a Blur from a Bullet Train
7. Each Time I Bring It Up It Seems to Bring You Down
8. Timothy B. Schmidt
9. Women Help to Create the Kind of Men They Despise
10. I Hate Candy
11. Haven't Heard a Word I Said
12. Action Figure

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lambchop   Primary Artist
Kurt Wagner   Guitar,Vocals
Paul Niehaus   Guitar,Guitar (Steel)
Willie Tyler   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar
Tony Crow   Piano
Matt Swanson   Bass
Sam Baker   Drums
The Nashville String Machine   Strings
Alex McManus   Guitar,Piano (Thumb)
Benny Martin   Drums
Deanna Varagona   Vocals
Jonathan Marx   Electronics
Marc William Trovillion   Electronics
Curtiss Pernice   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Allen Lowrey   Percussion

Technical Credits

Tony Crow   Group Member
Kurt Wagner   Composer,Producer,Group Member
Paul Niehaus   Group Member
Lambchop   Arranger
Matt Swanson   Group Member
Lloyd Barry   String Arrangements
John Kelton   Editing
Sam Baker   Group Member
Mark Nevers   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Alex McManus   Group Member
William Tyler   Composer
Deanna Varagona   Group Member
Jonathan Marx   Group Member
Jim DeMain   Mastering
Jerry Joyner   Design,Art Direction
Craig Allen   Design,Art Direction
John Delworth   Group Member
Marc William Trovillion   Group Member
Wayne White   Cover Painting
Allen Lowrey   Group Member
Willie Tyler   Group Member