Nixon

The latest instalment in Nashville floor-layer Kurt Wagner's project of fusing soul and country music is a disappointing affair that never quite lives up to its promise and only fleetingly recalls earlier triumphs.

Wagner's increasing obsession with '70 soul - and in particular the late Curtis Mayfield - is evident throughout (on 'The Book I Haven't Read', Mayfield is even given a co-credit such is his musical influence) but on 'What Else Could It Be?' Wagner apes Smokey Robinson's castrati falsetto but only ends up sounding like he's got his balls caught in a vice.

For the most part, though, he sticks within his usual vocal range - from a whisper to a mumble - annunciating his impressionistic paeans to the banal and the beatific with customary restraint and understatement.

It all kicks off well enough, with 'The Old Gold Shoe', written in homage to Wagner's mate, Vic Chesnutt, which celebrates music through a homage to the working parts of an actual hi-fi system, while the languid strings, horns and muted atmospheric guitars shimmer quietly all around. It's one of the best examples of what Lambchop are all about, but unfortunately there is much that follows that just washes over you without taking any hold of your senses or imagination.

While the thematic scaffolding of Richard Nixon's life and crimes is an interesting idea - we even get a recommended reading list! - how this relates to the songs themselves is unclear. There's also a throwaway, silly rendition of 'The Butcher Boy' at the end, which is described by in the press release as a "lost, forgotten folk song": tell that to Messrs. McCabe and Jordan!

What makes Nixon so disappointing is that we know from previous records like How I Quit Smoking and What Another Man Spills that on top form Wagner can write really (d)electable love songs (see 'The One', 'The Saturday Option'). But I'm afraid voter apathy could stall this particular campaign.