This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You)
by Lambchop
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Mar 22, 2019
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. musicOMH.com
    Mar 22, 2019
    90
    They’re looking forward, stepping outside of their comfort zone and creating some of the most interesting, ambitious music of their long career.
  2. Pitchfork
    Mar 28, 2019
    81
    He’s made great records before, even exciting and unexpected ones, but never one so comforting and compassionate.
  3. Spin
    Mar 29, 2019
    80
    Even more than on FLOTUS, the vocal effects and electronic textures of This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You) create a fractured and sometimes staggeringly beautiful sonic environment for his songwriting, which is as strong as ever here.
  5. The Line of Best Fit
    Mar 22, 2019
    80
    Whereas the less compelling stretches of its predecessor found Wagner seemingly bewitched by the new gizmos at his disposal, favouring texture and tone over tunecraft, This is more readily recognisable as a collection of Lambchop balladry, albeit one decked out in technological finery.
  6. AllMusic
    Mar 22, 2019
    80
    Like Lambchop's best work, This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You) takes the listener someplace they haven't been before, and in this case that includes the fictive homelands of Nixon and Mr. M, but it's also a place worth visiting.
  7. The Guardian
    Mar 22, 2019
    80
    A couple of the songs in the middle section verge on bland impressionism, but it only needs a few streaks of colour to enliven the palette again. ... Wagner’s authority underpins it all.
  8. Exclaim
    Mar 21, 2019
    80
    They're the kind of songs you pull out once a month as reassurance that the mundanity of normal life can be beautiful, and/or we are all in this together. That's true today and it will be true tomorrow.
  9. PopMatters
    Mar 20, 2019
    80
    This is the musical equivalent of that final "walk" monologue from Synecdoche, New York. It's a heavy listen, but potentially a rapturous one as well, for anyone who has ever experienced a reverie of aging and all it entails.
  10. Mojo
    Mar 13, 2019
    80
    Immersive and thought-provoking record. [Apr 2019, p.87]
    All this publication's reviews
  11. Q Magazine
    Mar 13, 2019
    80
    A late-career peak. [May 2019, p.115]
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Uncut
    Mar 13, 2019
    80
    It feels in some ways much more of a post-Lambchop album than FLOTUS. [Apr 2019, p.24]
    All this publication's reviews

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. bigrookie
    Apr 5, 2019
    5
    i have loved lambchop for a very long time. i once traveled to berlin to see them as i knew they weren't coming anywhere close to vancouver.i have loved lambchop for a very long time. i once traveled to berlin to see them as i knew they weren't coming anywhere close to vancouver. i, however, am finding it very hard to get behind the last two albums - the latest is even harder than FLOTUS. the songs are lush sounding and beautiful but as soon as i hear the vocoder i go cold. it's likely just the old man in me. i make fun of my daughter's musical tastes as they all have some sort of vocal manipulation going on and now here we are. i salute kurt for going his own way, redefining lambchop and what's expected, i really do. i just will stick, for now, with the back catalogue.… Full Review »
  2. zumaro
    Apr 20, 2019
    9
    Kurt Wagner on an electronic roll right now, and it sounds as good as anything Lambchop has ever released. Masterful - lush and compassionate,Kurt Wagner on an electronic roll right now, and it sounds as good as anything Lambchop has ever released. Masterful - lush and compassionate, yet with an abrasive slightly political edge that keeps showing through. This album is a model of how to successfully reinvent yourself.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »