Lambchop  Mr. M

Is it really any surprise that Lambchop has ended up on a list of overlooked records? After all, Mr. M sounds like some bizarre collaboration between Burt Bacharach and your piss-drunk uncle who claims to have invented the earmuffs. Overlooked, indeed. And past first impressions, this is simply a tough album to get into. The band hardly seems to care if you’re paying attention (with the possible exception of “Gone Tomorrow‰Û), and Kurt Wagner’s songwriting takes ages to unfold, ÌÊ la Bill Callahan.

However, if you are paying attention, these sorts of things suddenly become the album’s greatest assets. Tunes like “Buttons,‰” “Mr. Met,‰” and opener “If Not I’ll Just Die‰” are dryly amusing and profoundly sad, and there really isn’t a bum track in the bunch. Of every great album released this year, Mr. M tried the hardest to slip by unnoticed; luckily for us, we were paying attention.

By Peter Gill