Latest releases reviewed

LAMBCHOP The Decline of the Country and Western Civilization (1993-99) City Slang ***

Pity the poor country-music-loving dimwit who happens upon this collection of singles and unreleased tracks and buys it on the basis of the title. Apart from the fact that Lambchop hail from Nashville, almost everything else about this band is post - post-country, post-pop, post-emotions. Yet there linger faint associations with country music - the pedal steel and a compelling sense of the morose - which colour these quirky songs of obscure humour, distance and reserve. Soaky in the Pooper, Moody Fucker and Cigarettiquette are fitting preludes to the gloriously self-conscious The Gettyburg Address. Strangely strange but oddly normal. www.lambchop.net

Joe Breen

DON BAKER Rain On The Wind Modal Records ***

Baker's corner's been increasingly populated by power ballads and country blues of late. Time was when Don Baker and blues were synonymous, his harmonica etching his identity, every bent note and belly-deep riff bearing testament to a man who lived the music just as he played it. These days, he dilutes the workhorse blues of Help Me Work it Out and Funky Duck with crowd-pleasers that hanker after a big canvas and a cinematic treatment - neither of which feature here. Despite a spirited duet with Christy Dignam on the title track, Baker's at his best with the exquisite keening blues of Jordanna, or with the trademark hi-static blues of Runaway Train. Sometimes it pays to remain faithful to the creed. www.donbaker.ie

Siobhán Long