I Hope You're Sitting Down

NME - Ranked #44 in NME's `Top 50 Albums Of The Year' for 1995 - "The American Tindersticks, more or less. A dopily beautiful concoction of strings, horns, general creakiness and Kurt Wagner's vaguely pervy lyrics..." Alternative Press - "...This record is about life at its basics, and the art of watching the world from your front porch....Lambchop's billowing taste of slow weather represents our best small-town Tom Waits..." Spin - Highly Recommended - "...tweak the already shaky margins of alt-Opryland....a Gram Parsons anagram: earnest but definitely off-kilter...uneasy story-songs...in a voice so plaintive, you can hear his lips brush the microphone....a greasy slab of meat in sheep's clothing..." Mojo - 4 stars out of 5 -- "While strings, brass and woodwind smoke around him, disturbing images lift out of the sound like dirt in a washing powder commercial." Uncut - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Right from the opening lines...Lambchop appeared to be pursuing an agenda way off the radar of rock music." NME (12/23-30/95, pp.22-23) - Ranked #44 in NME's `Top 50 Albums Of The Year' for 1995 - "The American Tindersticks, more or less. A dopily beautiful concoction of strings, horns, general creakiness and Kurt Wagner's vaguely pervy lyrics..." Spin (12/94, p.109) - Highly Recommended - "...tweak the already shaky margins of alt-Opryland....a Gram Parsons anagram: earnest but definitely off-kilter...uneasy story-songs...in a voice so plaintive, you can hear his lips brush the microphone....a greasy slab of meat in sheep's clothing..." Alternative Press (2/95, p.65) - "...This record is about life at its basics, and the art of watching the world from your front porch....Lambchop's billowing taste of slow weather represents our best small-town Tom Waits..."

Lambchop mixes a wry, somewhat warped sensibility with a spacious, Quaalude-dipped sonic conception and spreads this unlikely concoction over the tried-and-true musical verities of rock, folk, and country. While singer Kurt Wagner's intimate, world-weary talk-singing relates lyrics that are at once ironic, silly, and highly poetic, lush arrangements of strings, horns, and organ (as well as mandolin, ukelele, and banjo) create a dynamically shifting noise seduction.
"Begin", "You Are The Very Air He Breathes", and "I Will Drive Slowly" investigate a surreal romantic world that charms and intrigues. One of Lambchop's best tricks is the band's ability to make the alt-rock slacker ethic co-exist beautifully with strong compositions and meticulous arrangements, creating music that is at once hip and otherworldly yet "small town" accessible. I HOPE YOU'RE SITTING DOWN perfectly articulates the band's atmospheric, humorous, and quirkily appealing aesthetic.|