In the years since Lambchop’s electrified 2016 release FLOTUS, Kurt Wagner’s legendary alt-country ensemble have covered Prince’s “When You Were Mine,” debuted a mini-documentary, and shared a reworked version of FLOTUS’ “The Hustle.” Now the Nashville mainstay is back, with Bon Iver/Hiss Golden Messenger drummer Matthew McCaughan in tow, to announce the forthcoming confessional This (is what I wanted to tell you). It’s technically their thirteenth full-length since 1994’s debut, but they’re pushing it as their fourteenth. Maybe it’s just superstition, but the band’s press release reads: “Like all the other tallest buildings in the world, Lambchop skips No. 13.”

Today’s lead single, “The December-ish You,” preserves Lambchop’s digitized Auto-Tune adornment of recent years. But Wagner’s erratically distorted falsetto is both intimate and disarming. It’s a jazzy slow-burner with a haunted chill. Woven in between reflections on weather and everyday letdowns exist sharp and confrontational lyrics: “I’m not your dick, I’m not your rich, I’m not your bitch/ Empowerment was always/ In the eye of the beholder.”

Listen and watch the accompanying visualizer below. And make sure to check out This’s tracklist.

TRACKLIST:
01 “The New Isn’t So You Anymore”
02 “Crosswords, Or What This Says About You”
03 “Everything For You”
04 “The Lasting Last Of You”
05 “The Air Is Heavy And I Should Be Listening To You”
06 “The December-ish You”
07 “This Is What I Wanted To Tell You”
08 “Flower”

This (is what I wanted to tell you) is out 3/22 via City Slang/Merge. Pre-order it here.

CREDIT: Steve Gullick