• Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Sep 30, 2022
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. Sep 29, 2022
    90
    It’s the work of a focused artist who is consistently attempting to stretch out the parameters of their own ever-expanding sonic world. ... Yet another late-career highlight. [Oct 2022, p.22]
  2. Oct 3, 2022
    81
    The Bible is a willfully abstract record, but for its many experiments, Wagner and company bring an intense focus to these songs.
  3. Oct 14, 2022
    80
    On The Bible, Kurt Wagner bravely steps into new territory both musically and lyrically, and it's a beautiful and frequently moving experience.
  4. Oct 3, 2022
    80
    The Bible is undoubtably one of Lambchop’s most mature records, but it is also one of their most honest, most unguarded in its emotional and historical perspectives.
  5. 80
    There are moments, as on Every Child Begins the World Again, so musically numinous and epochally sad that Lambchop approaches Nick Cave’s recent work.
  6. Sep 29, 2022
    80
    Wagner is not constrained by locale, genre, or topic, and at 64 he continues to forge forward with Lambchop, delivering his music with restrained tempo and majestic tonality on The Bible.
  7. Mojo
    Sep 29, 2022
    80
    [Cryptic, allusive, impressionistic, The Bible needs its own concordance at times. Yet, after three decades on a quest to close in on the mysteries of being human, Wagner's perceptive edge hasn't blunted. [Oct 2022, p.83]
  8. Sep 29, 2022
    80
    The Bible, like a lot of Lambchop albums, probably won’t be to everyone’s taste – some may find the constant electronic treatment of Wagner’s perfectly decent singing voice to be a bit grating, for example. Yet it’s the sound of a man ploughing his own furrow, and producing yet another unvarnished gem of a record.
  9. Sep 29, 2022
    78
    As is the case for many Lambchop albums, there is sadness and melancholy, but on The Bible, there’s more hope for a better tomorrow. Wagner sounds rejuvenated after following a different path on the way to making this record than on Lambchop’s three previous albums in just as many years.
  10. Oct 4, 2022
    75
    Wagner seems literally incapable of running out of ideas, and The Bible has plenty of good ones.
  11. 70
    The unexpected is to be expected, and in that regard, Wagner and company don’t disappoint. The Bible may not be the last word as far as this band’s creativity is concerned, but as always, Lambchop’s music is worth heeding.
  12. Sep 29, 2022
    70
    His songs flash by in vivid, disconnected mental images, floating on an underlying current of mood. What we see passes by. What we feel about it lingers, evocatively, just out of reach and often filtered through digital mechanisms. ... The album’s lyrics are about all kinds of things, but its sound is about being isolated and frightened with contact only through digital interface.

Awards & Rankings

User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 3 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Oct 1, 2022
    10
    Absolutely revelatory. A wonderful mix of soul, country, folk and electronica. Just when you think you know where it's going it surprises youAbsolutely revelatory. A wonderful mix of soul, country, folk and electronica. Just when you think you know where it's going it surprises you again. A masterful work by an artist wielding an intense passion for the craft. Full Review »