Even voorstellen – Lambchop ‘punching the clown’
LAMBCHOP " PUNCHING THE CLOWN” 21/08 (city slang/konkurrent)
‘WEAKENED’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bW_EXLRPBk
LIVE
2 Dec - Antwerp, BE @ Arenberg
3 Dec - Roeselare, BE @ De Spil
Lambchop have announced their new album, Punching The Clown, will be released on 21 August 2026 via City Slang. Along with the announcement they have shared the lead single “Weakened”, which finds band leader Kurt Wagner alongside Andrew Broder on guitar, Justin Vernon on banjo, a full choir helmed by Blake Morgan; recorded and mixed by Mark Nevers and produced by Ryan Olson.
“Weakened”, the album’s first single, is an anthem for the weak-spirited in a feverish world, carried by the interplay of voices that ultimately merge into a coda demonstrating just how much power this Lambchop line-up can generate. This music needs no noise to grow; it finds its strength from within.
The musical world of Lambchop in 2026 consists of: vocals, backing vocals, banjo, guitar. That’s all the new album “Punching The Clown” needs. With this line-up, they’ve created music that lies somewhere between gospel, folk and country. On the one hand, it’s focused and stripped-back. On the other hand, incredibly rich and powerful. By the way, Justin Vernon plays the banjo. And when it came to songwriting, Kurt Wagner was more consistent than ever: he learnt from the best and resolved to give a chance only to songs that could measure up. And so, “Punching The Clown” in the band’s 33rd year is the new masterpiece of the masterful Lambchop discography.
Nashville, 2024: Kurt Wagner drove to the petrol station; an old song was playing on the car radio that he couldn’t get out of his head. “A simple song,” he says, “a banjo holding a single chord, with a few voices singing along.” A mix of folk, country and gospel. “Breathtaking. Beautiful.” For a few days, Wagner tried to find out what this piece was that had so captivated him. He didn’t succeed. Instead, during his research, he came across a form of music that has long been forgotten, yet continues to exert a major influence on country and folk to this day. Wagner stumbled upon the song form known as ‘lining out’, which originated in British churches in the 19th century, at a time when many people could not yet read. A lead singer, known as a “clerk”, would set a simple melody and lyrics, and the congregation would repeat them. This musical form reached the United States via the settlers and flowed into the great American melting pot from which gospel, country and Appalachian folk music developed. A plan had long since taken shape in Kurt Wagner’s mind: to record a Lambchop album that reflects the spirit of this music and of that mysterious song from the radio.
“Punching The Clown” is that album.
It is not unusual for Kurt Wagner to have a precise plan in mind before he sets to work. There are many examples of this in Lambchop’s unique discography. In 1997, Wagner named the third album “Thriller”, hoping that the title alone would multiply sales figures. The Lambchop classic “Nixon” combined soul and country, Curtis Mayfield and Hank Williams in 2000. “Is A Woman”, released two years later, was a piano-driven work; with “FLOTUS” in 2016, Kurt Wagner introduced an autotune effect into the Lambchop universe – for very pragmatic reasons, as he explains: “At the time, the autotune felt like a buddy by my side.”
Essentially, each of the 15 Lambchop albums released to date has pursued the idea of constantly reinventing the band’s sound based on what had already been created. One might think that after 33 years and with album number 16, there couldn’t be much left to offer. And then comes “Punching The Clown”: within seconds, you find yourself in a new Lambchop world where everything sounds fresh yet wonderfully familiar. It feels like returning to a favourite place in a dream.
The new songs are, of course, shaped by Kurt Wagner’s voice.
No one else sings and speaks like him. Wagner’s vocals are an art form in themselves; he should be given a Grammy for them. This time, he’s done away with the Auto-Tune effect. Instead, he’s brought in choirs to join him. Two ensembles can be heard, each led by Blake Morgan: one from Eau Claire with six voices, and one from London with eleven. The choirs do not merely accompany Wagner; they engage in a lively dialogue with him. “They’re my new buddies, just like the Autotune device used to be,” he says.
And then there’s the banjo. “I’m not a big fan of this instrument,” Wagner admits. Too much ‘yeehaw’… Others would steer clear of it in such a case. He, however, finds it motivating. “Because if you allow yourself to overcome your own prejudices, you’re rewarded by discovering new facets.” The plan: to make the banjo cool and appealing. So it was very fortunate that up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 800 miles north of Wagner’s hometown of Nashville, someone was currently working intensively with the banjo: Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. A star. But also a nerd who immediately agreed when Kurt Wagner asked him if he wanted to be part of this new Lambchop line-up.
This line-up therefore consists of: Kurt Wagner and Andrew Broder, who has been accompanying him live as a pianist for several years. Added to this are the two backing vocals of Blake Morgan and Justin Vernon on banjo. There has never been a group like this before. Nor a band like Lambchop. It’s also worth mentioning producer Ryan Olson. “Not just someone who fiddles with buttons,” says Wagner, “but someone who leaves his mark as an artist.”
Precisely because this line-up is so good and special, Kurt Wagner absolutely needed excellent songs. “I took the job of songwriting for this album very seriously,” says Wagner. He studied how other great songwriters write, read biographies for this purpose, analysed their songs, and formulated questions he asked himself: “What touches and moves you about your favourite songs – and why? And how can you succeed in applying these insights to your own world?” His home study was followed by initial attempts at songwriting, many of which failed. Hence: a fresh start. Things improved, but it still wasn’t enough. Another fresh start, combined with a request to guitarist Andrew Broder to co-write with him– and suddenly it all fell into place.
Thirty songs were created, recorded as demos. Now it was a matter of selecting twelve for the album and putting them in the right order. The structure of “Punching The Clown” was therefore already in place before actual production began. “We viewed the album as a whole from the very start,” says Wagner. No wonder it sounds so coherent and self-assured. Typical of Lambchop. On the one hand. On the other hand, the record goes one step further. The quality of the songs, the band’s line-up, the uniqueness of the arrangements and production – “Punching The Clown” is a masterpiece within Lambchop’s masterful discography. Including lyrics to make you fall to your knees.
Punching The Clown tracklist:
1. Just West Of Nicollet
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in early 2024 i heard a song on the radio on my way to get some gas.
just a minimal single chord strummed banjo and a small group of voices.
it seemed perfect in the moment as the moment became perfect in itself.
i never found out who it was, sounded kinda like early country gospel?
in a time of searching i discovered a type of gospel singing known as lined out singing
which is said to have begun in the late 1800s in scotland.
it migrated to appalacia and became an obscure root of american gospel, country....
a spontaneous call and response type of acapella singing led by a clerk with a chorus of singers
revealing the raw beauty and power of the human voice with its unique varieties
its unadorned simplicity gave weight to the words as they were sung.
i wanted to make a record that emulated this kind of music.
⏄
is this that? Perhaps
ryan and i decided to make another record together after the bible.
my idea was to go back to writing songs in the manner in which i began
then present them as described in ⏁ solely banjo voice and choir
ryan mentioned that justin had been playing the banjo
i’d done some prior work with blake for a live london performance with a choir
and there it was
recorded in 3 days, a year thereafter at april base
andrew justin ryan nevers blake with his selected six part choir
trusting in our mutual love and respect for each others proclivities
later adding 12 more singers in london and randal in minneapolis
we figured it out.
⏃
the songs took some doing
i needed to become a better writer
so i asked andrew to write some hits
he’d rarely written songs in this way of simple song demos of guitar and voice
i took to the study of the works of the many great songwriters, their work, lives, process.
in doing so allowing their madness pain and truth to become mine
i failed so often until i didn’t
it got better
in the end there were 30 songs that transcended into consideration
ryan and i picked 12 and decided the track listing
which we adhered to throughout the entire process
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i’m conflicted not offering a more detailed accountings for these songs but this feels like enough
let’s just say i tried for simple, restrained vocabulary to get closer to a modest amount of truth
through a guise of hyper-naturalism grief love and humor
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