An Edgy Electronic Exploration

Titles can be as deceiving as they are revealing. The first glance at the latest release from Lambchop, a Nashville-based alt-rock act with a dedicated core following, might have one wondering if the album was inspired by the First Lady of the United States. But the acronym has a subtle meaning, as it stands for “For Love Often Turns Us Still”—a message that Lambchop delivers through soft grooves and trendy modern touches.

For a band that’s been plugging along for two decades, Lambchop, led by frontman Kurt Wagner, has a remarkable ability to create music that is fresh and current without getting bogged down by their own strengths and weaknesses. FLOTUS is a record that glides, like waves rolling up onto the shore and back into the ocean. There’s a peaceful quality that is altogether refreshing in their muted vocal manipulation and patient drum parts.

At nearly 12 minutes long, opener “In Care of 8675309” introduces listeners to the full and fragrant landscape Lambchop will provide, which is a more arty and edgy sound than some of their previous work, which fits comfortably within an alt-country label.

“Directions to the Can” gets groovy, with a deep, bluesy vocal tone and some smooth jazz-style keys. When Lambchop goes upbeat, the phrase “soft rock” comes to mind, but without the grimace and wince associated with the type you’re more likely to hear while getting a chair filled. This is mellow, but full of texture and depth. Wagner has said he took inspiration from the likes of Kanye and Kendrick (hence the vocoder), and it’s rare and beautiful and exciting to hear music from different scenes and cultures influencing alt-country artists, instead of the other way around.

Things slow down on “Flotus” and “JFK” while the vocal distortion continues. The voice, after all, is an instrument that can be manipulated in countless ways bound only by the imagination, technique and capabilities of the owner. Wagner chooses to use his voice in a way that punctuates rhythms and emphasizes the ebb and flow. On “Old Masters,” Wagner takes his voice octaves higher set to a MIDI-style beat and funky bass line—components that, in unskilled hands, could come out sounded flat, cliché or uninteresting. But with Lambchop, there’s extra touches, like an occasional piano line or warm auxiliary, that elevate the song.

What’s exciting about FLOTUS is the way it truly feels like an exploration, for both the musicians and the listener. While stepping out of their comfort zones to play with of-the-moment electronic and digital tools, Lambchop has created something that takes their sound in a new direction. For listeners, it’s a treat to hear musicians expand their boundaries. “Writer” has a little acoustic guitar and is among the album’s wordier tracks, which might be more in step with Lambchop’s past song styles, but an ever-present electronic backbeat forms the foundation of this new direction.

Album closer “The Hustle,” features a memorable blend of old-school and new-school, with full and resounding horns matched by drum machine beats. The 18-minute track is largely instrumental but when Wagner does sing he is thoughtful and wry. Like the rest of the album, it’s an exploration, but it feels somehow more experimental as it walks the line of art-rock without getting too weird or losing its spine of rhythm and melody. Tagline “Do the Hustle” feels ironic and inviting at the same time, and the records ends with a gentle piano fade-out.

FLOTUS offers something different for listeners who are looking for a fresh sound. It’s a record that neither breaks the mold nor fashions a new one, but exists in a parallel world where an artist is considering their own boundaries, style and sound rather than those of the scene at large. The playfulness and exploration that went into this album is obvious in its own stark uniqueness, offering some sort of proof that the journey is as worthy as the destination.