5 (Lamb album)

5 is the fifth studio album by English electronic music duo Lamb, released on 5 May 2011 by Strata, after a five-year hiatus.

Recording and production

5 was the first album of new material to be recorded by Lamb following their reformation in 2009.

Critical reception

Writing that Lamb had returned from their hiatus as "a different animal", The Daily Telegraphs James Lachno observed that "the industrial electronic beats of old are stripped back" and that lead singer Lou Rhodes's "forlorn, breathy purr" is given greater emphasis on 5, whose sound Lachno described as "a more folk-influenced take on Portishead's down-tempo elegance." In Mixmag, Stephen Worthy praised 5 as Lamb's best album since their 1996 self-titled debut, finding that "as ever, Rhodes' voice, folky, soaring and sweet, acts as a magical counterpoint" to producer Andy Barlow's "intense, emotional digital soundbed." Peter Kane of Q commented that 5 juxtaposes "Barlow's imaginative programming and Rhodes's existential angst... to particularly powerful effect".

The Independent, however, said that little had changed since Lamb's split, with the band still sounding "middle-class" and unthreatening, although Rhodes's voice was sounding more like that of Stevie Nicks.

Track listing

Notes

• "The Spectacle" contains 20 seconds of silence at the end of the track.
• "The Spectacle (Reprise)" is not listed on the back cover of the physical releases.
• Disc one of the limited edition omits "Back to Beginning" and "The Spectacle (Reprise)" and features them as track 2 and track 9, respectively, on disc two.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians

• Andy Barlow – beats, synthesizers, samplers, keyboards
• Lou Rhodes – vocals, guitar
• Danny Keane – string arrangements ; Rhodes piano ; additional piano
• Jon Thorne – double bass
• Yoav – additional guitar
• Stuart Ryan – guitar
• Damien Rice – vocals
• Nikolaj Bjerre – drums
• Carrie Tree – guitar
• String section
• Everton Nelson, Emil Chakolov, Emlyn Singleton, Nina Foster, Max Baillie, Chris Worsey, Jon Thorne, Danny Keane, Oli Langford

Production

• Andy Barlow – production; mixing
• Simon Changer – engineering
• Ali Staton – mixing ; additional mixing
• Dave Greenberg – mastering

Design

• Lou Rhodes – design, booklet photography
• Nick Tomlinson – design, booklet photography
• Notion23 – design
• Claudia Crobatia – cover photography

Charts

References

External links