Lambchop: Nixon

ONE OF the problems of being a critically-lauded cult success with scant resources is that fans' well-meaning allowances can lead to low expectations, particularly regarding production. Not that I'd noticed any glaring shortcomings in Lambchop's most recent albums, 1997's Thriller and 1998's What Another Man Spills, but for Nixon the band have made a concerted attempt to match major-label technical standards. "Rather than rebel against this stuff," explains songwriter Kurt Wagner, "we thought we would see just how far we could take it and still keep our souls intact."