Daily Times

Lambchop´s Kurt Wagner invited his ever-morphing ensemble to record some covers in Nashville and the resulting album, “Trip,” surely defined the frontman´s creed and genre-blending approach to music. Trying their hand at Wilco´s “Reservations” returns stellar results. It´s dark and brooding, full of pregnant pause piano and interlaced with soft accoutrements of percussion to deliver a gem well worth the 13 minutes it takes to hear it all. The band´s take on Mirrors’ “Shirley” is no less impressive. Beginning with the appropriate proto-punk pace, Lambchop´s version nicely gives way to a dramatic down-shifted finish for the song about love just out of reach. There´s a good reason why Wagner and his iterations of Lambchop have stood the test of years, while remaining below the radar for some. Wagner´s artistic visions aren´t for everyone, but they´re well constructed enough to demand respect. Lambchop, again, gives it all.