Lambchop is back. The group announced the release of a new covers EP titled TRIP that will be released in November.
As part of the song selection for the six-song collection, each member got to select a single tune to tackle, and said member got to lead the studio session for their song. It was recorded last December.
“My idea was to see what might happen if I removed myself from the process as much as possible,” Kurt Wagner said in a statement.
The first song to emerge is a 13-minute cover of Wilco’s “Reservations,” as selected by drummer Matthew McCaughan.
Here’s what he had to say about why he chose that song:
I’d like to say that Wilco’s “Reservations” is a song I’ve always wanted to cover. But honestly, after a friend had mentioned it in a story, I had to go back and give it another listen. Picking out a cover is stressful for me. It’s kind of a dumb thing to stress about, but so many songs have memories tied to them, and I don’t want to cloud those memories. I usually pick one of those songs that I feel would fit the band, but then I go back and forth, wondering the best way to approach the arrangement. Should we honor the original and try to faithfully re-create all the sounds and performances that make the song special to me, or should we take it apart and start over? Then, add in the fact that the cover would be recorded and preserved forever. I could not think of one song that I couldn’t make an argument for both approaches, so it always ends in a one-person stalemate. So I decided I would pick a song that, while I love it, and know it, it wasn’t one that had been on repeat for months at some point in my life, nor was it one that is permanently tied to some memory of my own. Instead, I used my family’s and friends’ collections and recollections with and without their permission. That way I’d just ruin it for them. But it’s the thought that counts.
Listen to “Reservations” below.
Lambchop’s TRIP is out on Nov. 13 via Merge domestically and City Slang worldwide. See the tracklisting below.
“Reservations” (Jeff Tweedy; originally performed by Wilco)
“Where Grass Won’t Grow” (Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery; popularized by George Jones)
“Shirley” (Jamie Klimek & Jim Crook; originally performed by Mirrors)
“Golden Lady” (Stevie Wonder)
“Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone” (Brian Holland, Edward Holland & Lamont Dozier; popularized by The Supremes)
“Weather Blues” (James McNew [of Yo La Tengo, Dump]; unreleased)
