LADY LAMB: Even in the Tremor CD
Lady Lamb: Even in the Tremor (Ba Da Bing Records)
BING-149
Release Date: April 5, 2019
BING-149 Lady Lamb "Even in the Tremor"
Side A
1. Little Flaws
2. Deep Love
3. Even In The Tremor
4. Untitled Soul
5. Strange Maneuvers
6. Without a Name
Side B
7. Young Disciple
8. Prayer of Love
9. July Was Mundane
10. Oh My Violence
11. Emily
“I’m always teetering on the edge of self-sabotage,” says Aly Spaltro
aka Lady Lamb. “The whole idea of this new album is the push and
pull between calmness and chaos, joy and anxiety, self-loathing and
self-love.” Nowhere is that more clear than the title track, “Even in
the Tremor,” an ecstatic panic attack unspooling with all the far-flung
places Spaltro has visited throughout the course of her writing process,
including Berlin, Montreal, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater house
in Pennsylvania and Nicaragua’s Masaya volcano, a touchstone visual
for Spaltro in her conception of this latest project. “The past will kill
the present / if I let it,” the singer repeats like an anxious dance party
mantra for romantics and overthinkers alike.
Even in the Tremor marks Spaltro’s latest full-length LP following
2015’s After and it’s a remarkable achievement because, among other
things, it’s the first time in her career that Spaltro is singing explicitly
about herself. “I’ve never let myself be this exposed before,” she says,
“but this whole album is about facing who you are and fighting your
way toward self-acceptance.” Between confessing a tantrum in a batting
cage (“Little Flaws”), telling the story of her parent’s kiddie-pool baptism
(“Young Disciple”) and singing openly about untangling her girlfriend’s
wet hair (“Deep Love”), Even in the Tremor is deeply rooted in the people
and places, extraordinary and mundane, that have shaped Spaltro into the
self-determining artist she is today.
Spaltro’s relentless search for meaning informs not only her creative
process but also the content of the album itself. “I’ve become obsessed
with trying to understand what we’re here for,” she says. “That desire
to understand weaves through all my songs.” This becomes clear on
“Strange Maneuvers,” a Motown-inspired freak-out song recorded live
in the studio for extra impact. “I don’t want to be afraid of myself anymore,”
the singer roars, and it’s like she’s exorcising her demons through a jangly
pop beat.
“Deep Love” is a resounding reflection on love, touching on family, intimacy
and neighborhood. A late addition to the album, it was the song that threw
the whole record into focus. “I had just gone into Manhattan and I felt like
an alien seeing all the workers on their lunch break. When I got home I looked
out the window and I started singing the first line, ‘I’m not convinced we
should strive for Midtown’ and by the time I got to the verse about finding a
faded photo of my mom I was crying and that’s when I knew the album was
done.” The song begins humbly with an acoustic guitar and swells into a
jubilant and soul-baring tribute to the love that connects us all.
It took Spaltro almost a year to find the right co-producer. She initially
attempted to make the record with an esteemed producer as she’d been
advised but after being told that her arrangements needed rewriting by
various veterans in the industry, Spaltro bravely changed direction and
found a champion of her vision in Erin Tonkon, a less established
producer whose six years working with Tony Visconti and later,
David Bowie on his Grammy-winning Blackstar, made her more
than qualified for the role.
Tonkon and Spaltro instantly bonded over certain hardships they
had each faced in the music industry. “Women who work in the
production side of music are not taken seriously,” Spaltro recalls.
“We wanted to work toward changing that.”
Benjamin Lazar Davis (Cuddle Magic, Kimbra, Okkervil River)
played bass and piano and synthesizer. Jeremy Gustin (David Byrne,
Albert Hammond Jr., Rubble Bucket) played drums. The group
recorded at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn, New York.
Known for her keen observations of others, Spaltro now turns her
multifaceted ruminations inward; She calls out from dreams, peers
into churches, has fits of rage, and struggles to get out of her head
long enough to love herself and those around her. “It’s taken me
years to get here,” she says, “but I’m sort of done with hiding myself.
I want to be as honest as I can because that’s why people turn to art.
Anybody can tell the difference between bullshit and real vulnerability.”
This commitment to creating only what is necessary and urgently felt is
the key to appreciating Spaltro's fearless songwriting, as emotional as
it is philosophical. Even in the Tremor signifies the arrival of her most
sonically soaring and brutally honest album to date.
LADY LAMB ON TOUR
Wed 04/10/19 Hamden, CT SPACE Ballroom+
Thu 04/11/19 Montreal, QUE Le Ministère+
Fri 04/12/19 Toronto, ONT Drake Hotel+
Sat 04/13/19 Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe+
Mon 04/15/19 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop+
Tue 04/16/19 Detroit, MI Deluxx FluxxWed+
04/17/19 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall+
Fri 04/19/19 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry+
Sat 04/20/19 Milwakuee, WI Colectivo+
Mon 04/22/19 Omaha, NE Reverb Lounge+
Wed 04/24/19 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge+
Fri 04/26/19 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court+
Sat 04/27/19 Boise, ID OLYMPIC+
Mon 04/29/19 Spokane, WA Bartlett+
Thu 05/02/19 Vancouver, BC Biltmore*
Fri 05/03/19 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern*
Sat 05/04/19 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios*
Mon 05/06/19 San Francisco, CA GAMH*
Wed 05/08/19 Los Angeles, CA Lodge Room*
Thu 05/09/19 San Diego, CA Soda Bar*
Fri 05/10/19 Phoenix, AZ Valley Bar*
Sat 05/11/19 Santa Fe, NM Meow Wolf*
Mon 05/13/19 Austin, TX Antone's*
Tue 05/14/19 Dallas, TX DADA*
Thu 05/16/19 St Louis, MO Off Broadway*
Fri 05/17/19 Nashville, TN High Watt*
Sat 05/18/19 Atlanta, GA Aisle 5*
Sun 05/19/19 Asheville, NC Mothlight*
Tue 05/21/19 Raleigh, NC King's Barcade*
Wed 05/22/19 Washington, DC Rock n Roll Hotel*
Thu 05/23/19 Philadelphia, PA Foundry // Fillmore*
Thu 05/30/19 Brooklyn, NY Elsewhere*
Fri 05/31/19 Boston, MA Royale*
Sat 06/01/19 Portland, ME State Theatre*
+With Renata Zeiguer
*With Katie Von Schleicher
