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Artist: 
Lambchop

Punching The Clown: Black Vinyl LP

£29.99

Release date: 21 August, 2026

Lambchop's seventeenth album Punching the Clown finds Kurt Wagner returning to first principles. Sparked by a late-night radio encounter with an unidentified gospel recording, Wagner fell deep into the world of "lined out singing" a centuries-old Scots-Appalachian call-and-response tradition in which a lone clerk leads a choir through hymns, word by unadorned word. That spirit of raw, communal voice shapes every moment of Punching the Clown: Wagner spent years studying great songwriters and relearning his craft from the ground up, whittling dozens of songs down to twelve. Recorded in three days with guitarist Andrew Broder, Justin Vernon on banjo, and a six-part choir assembled by Blake Morgan and engineered by Lambchop veteran Mark Nevers, the album is graceful, wry, and quietly devastating. Out August 21, 2026 on City Slang.

Produced by Ryan Olson and recorded August 25–27, 2025, at April Base, Wisconsin. The record was completed over three days and features Kurt Wagner (vocals), Andrew Broder (guitar), Justin Vernon (banjo), and a six-part vocal ensemble, with additional choir recordings in London and Minneapolis. 

TRACKLIST:
 

Side A 

01 Just West of Nicollet 

02 A Doctor in the House 

03 Weakened 

04 Stella 

05 Punching the Clown 

06 White People 

Side B 

07 The New World Wave 

08 Andrew Jackson Asshat 

09 Afterburner 

10 Cigar 

11 To Do 

12 No Chicago 

Formats: 
Vinyl LP

UPC: 04250506852771