Mancunian duo Lamb have achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with their distinctive, ever-evolving sound which combines passionate, heart-on-sleeve songwriting with unconventional arrangements informed by jazz, drum'n'bass, classical, and other genres. Lamb dwell in brash musical contrasts and, occasionally, contradictions that make their songs as musically complex and exploratory as they are vocally catchy. The duo's self-titled 1996 debut, an arresting mix of jungle and trip-hop, contained the heartbreaking single "Górecki," a Top 30 U.K. hit which would eventually be featured in several movies and TV shows. The duo pushed their sound further with 1999's Fear of Fours, nodding to their penchant for highly complex time signatures. Expanding their sound to incorporate more live instrumentation, 2001's What Sound contained the haunting ballad "Gabriel," which became a chart-topping hit in Portugal. Following 2003's Between Darkness and Wonder, the duo broke up; singer Lou Rhodes released a series of folk-influenced solo albums, while Andy Barlow produced material for other artists. Lamb returned with the full-length 5 in 2011, and continued touring and releasing studio and concert albums throughout the decade, while additionally pursuing their respective solo outings.
Formed in 1994 by producer Barlow and vocalist Rhodes (the former an in-house engineer for So What management, the latter a daughter of folk singer parents and a budding songstress), Lamb nailed a contract with Mercury subsidiary Fontana almost straight out of the gate. The group's debut, the "Cotton Wool" single showed that field-leaders such as A Guy Called Gerald and Fila Brazillia were on their side (each contributed a remix). But if anything, it was the untouched title track that illustrated Lamb's commitment to keeping the music interesting (the track rows along on a thick double-bass sample and absolutely brutalizing drum sequences) while filling it out with a big dose of tunefulness. An additional single ("Gold") followed, with Lamb's self-titled debut released in September of 1996 to widespread acclaim. Like the previous singles, much of Lamb explores song-oriented deployments of jungle, but the album also adds elements of downtempo and ambient-ish electro-jazz as well. Fourth single "Górecki," which sampled Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3, was released in 1997, and became the duo's biggest hit in their home country. The pair also added touring to their repertoire (Lamb's release was followed by a European tour with labelmates Galliano), combining their electronics-heavy productions with live instrumentalists. From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lamb-mn0000127301#biography
