Today’s mainstream pop typically consists of a dozen co-writers for predictable songwriting and unnaturally overproduced crap music, but Lady Lamb (real name Aly Spaltro) is proving to be an exception to that rotten rule, and emerging as a powerhouse solo artist who writes and arranges 100 percent of her material.
Consider picking up her new album—After, released this week—as a well-deserved gift for you ears to get you through these last few weeks of winter. The songs included are by no means the pop dreck you’d hear on the radio, and are noticeably more concise than her older material. Speaking from her new Brooklyn abode, Spaltro says that the new record is somewhat a progressive departure from her first album.
“I had one foot in [the first record] Ripely Pine, and one foot in the new album,” she says. “I’m generally not into form, which is why I wanted to try it out this time. I wasn’t overly formulaic, but I wanted to see what I could do differently.”
Still, Lady Lamb remains a solo project. “We live in a great time when it comes to being self-reliant. [With a computer] you can write a whole orchestra if you want,” she says nonchalantly, as if writing and arranging a 12-song album is an easy feat. “I just call on my friends to come help bring those arrangements to life on tour.”
She’s gearing up for her first full headlining tour with Cuddle Magic, Henri Jamison, and Rathborne opening and joining her on select dates. “It’s my most special tour to date,” she says. “All my hard work and hustling all these years has finally paid off.”
As for the record, it touches upon the anxiety of getting along in the world without getting sanctimonious. “Billions of Eyes” sings of little moments, like sharing looks with strangers on the subway, or the everything-is-going-to-be-alright feeling produced by falling into a pile of warm laundry. Conversely, she also rants about a saintly ancestor’s dead body being moved to the Vatican. Whether or not it’s factual or true doesn’t matter, really. What’s important is that each track is an unpredictable journey, bringing you back to that unfailing Lady Lamb-ness that is already evident in her work, and will likely be for the foreseeable future.
LADY LAMB W/ CUDDLE MAGIC. SAT 3.7. THE SINCLAIR, 52 CHURCH ST., CAMBRIDGE. 617.547.5200. 8PM/18+/$13. LADYLAMBJAMS.COM
