11 Lamb

Latvia's Progressive rock band Holy Lamb tells a slightly unconventional story about music. The musicians chose to integrate various shades of rock n' roll into their music. The result is as adventurous as it could possibly get. Released in the year 2016, "Gyrosophy" is the fourth studio album by Holy Lamb, the perfect way to celebrate the band's twenty-fifth anniversary. This record contains four songs and four instrumental tracks with a lot of emphasis on melodies, arrangements and musicianship. Great combination of Organ, Piano and guitar in instrumental parts. The album was devised, recorded and produced by the group itself, mixed at the Mars Yapim Studios in Ankara (Turkey), mastered by Jon Astley in the United Kingdom, and eventually published by the French label Musea Parallèle.

The minor San Francisco group Lamb tend to be remembered only for their appearance on the Fillmore: The Last Days concert album, where they were one of several non-star artists on a set dominated by bigger names like the Grateful Dead, Santana, and Boz Scaggs. The band did actually put out three albums in the early '70s, however, and were quite an interesting group. Not only were they not readily comparable to other acts on the San Francisco rock circuit, but it's debatable whether they could be fairly categorized as a rock band at all. Their music blended jazz, folk, singer/songwriter pop, gospel, and even some classical and avant-garde influences. Certainly the dominant figure was singer Barbara Mauritz, whose bluesy and earthy vocals had considerable resonance, but which could also traverse the band's frequently mystical, poetic lyrics with much delicacy and nuance…

The minor San Francisco group Lamb tend to be remembered only for their appearance on the Fillmore: The Last Days concert album, where they were one of several non-star artists on a set dominated by bigger names like the Grateful Dead, Santana, and Boz Scaggs. The band did actually put out three albums in the early '70s, however, and were quite an interesting group. Not only were they not readily comparable to other acts on the San Francisco rock circuit, but it's debatable whether they could be fairly categorized as a rock band at all. Their music blended jazz, folk, singer/songwriter pop, gospel, and even some classical and avant-garde influences. Certainly the dominant figure was singer Barbara Mauritz, whose bluesy and earthy vocals had considerable resonance, but which could also traverse the band's frequently mystical, poetic lyrics with much delicacy and nuance…

Using the postmodern torch music of Portishead as a foundation, Lamb spin out into new sonic territories on their eponymous debut album. The group sports a heavier techno influence, incorporating the buzzing rhythms of drum'n'bass into their music in particular, yet they cut their modernistic electronic influences with a dark sense of melodicism. Most of the album is devoted to jazzy songs that are broken apart by Andy Barlow's synthesizers and sampler and are anchored by Louise Rhodes' seductive vocals, which prevent the electronics from becoming cold. It's sophisticated urban music, one that's miles away from the avant-garde sensibilities of Tricky and the haunted romanticism of Portishead, or even the pop leanings of Sneaker Pimps and the soul-inflected grooves of Morcheeba…