Lambchop's tools for oddity

Lambchop's Tools In The Dryer is a collection of A- and B-side singles, live outtakes and other rarities. Lambchop is a band whose spotty career is marked by music that displays the members' big ears (or big record collections). Listening to Tools In The Dryer will not help you pinpoint their identity any more than their other records. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Kurt Wagner's music has always been a blend of pretentious art and odd humor. This collection serves as a nice way to watch his and the band's evolution. \nThere are tracks from the band's very beginning; home recordings made on a Casio keyboard while the members were still in high school. One of those songs, "All Over The World," is notable for its obnoxious woodwinds played over the pop-country tune, displaying the band's taste for the avantgarde at an early age. There also are some truly awful re-mixes of songs from previous albums, which were made to increase Lambchop's popularity in Europe. They mostly just end up sounding like Eurotrash-dance garbage. \nThe best songs, and the reason why this album is a worthwhile purchase, are the collection of singles that are hard to find elsewhere. On "Nine" they layer Pavement-like distorted guitars over Wagner's fabulous lyrics. "Cigaretiquette" shows Lambchop's affinity for pop sensibility as fitting for the grand joke. Lampchop uses a brass section to propel the late-night lounge feel that the music and lyrics call for. \nThe real gem on this album is the Vic Chesnutt cover, "Miss Prissy." Chesnutt is a great folk songwriter. Despite some relatively famous people trying to push him to a bigger audience, he remains, for the most part, undiscovered. Lambchop's reading is done very well, and it should make listeners want to seek out the source.\nThe singles on Tools In The Dryer are some of the best recordings that Lambchop has made. That said, including the rare and live tracks that will probably not be collected together anywhere else, fans would want to buy this album.\nRating: 6