After walking away from huge hype and a lot of success in the 1999 disappearance of British Merz (Conrad Lambert to her mother) back in 2005 with his second Album of the critically acclaimed praised Love Heart (released by British indie Grønland Records) His third album, Moi et Mon Camion (released by Greenland in March 2008) gave the same kind of attention from all corners with its mixture of beautiful balladeering heartfelt melodies complex production and a view of Merz's multi-instrumental talents
After Love Heart was released, Merz has been touring Europe with the Earlies play all over the world at festivals as diverse as Green Man Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and SXSW More attention followed in the U.S., where the song "Dangerous intoxicating Love systems where iTunes SIngle of the Week and "Postcards from A Darkstar 'was also Single of the Week with influential LA radio station KCRW
Merz has spent much time traveling around England in recent years and this restless spirit sets the tone for Moi et Mon Camion Named after a West Country removal firm who have moved Conrad and his wife belongings several times on the album starts even with the sound of their truck packing up and leaving the album was written on the move as Merz was to move from Bristol to Plymouth and then Bath
After the transient and homeless theme Conrad on singing talent employed an itinerant local to help with vocals on the album "I wanted a singer that sounded like an old man I told Bruno Ellingham who produced the album och he said "what about the Blue Man of Bath?" It turned out to be a down-on-his-luck dramatic living in the local hospice, we took him in and despite the fact that it was impossible to get him to sing the same tune twice he ended up on three songs "
One of these songs are the album opener 'Eviction Song' where the Blue Man of Bath does a great job to add another level of meaning to the song about Conrad moving again, this exciting character also appears" No one left to Chime Bells "in which he took upon himself to sing an imitation of a vocoder" sound that came out of him at that point I had never heard of and probably never will again, "remembers Conrad
Recording the album was also happening on the road in several different places from Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios just outside Bath to Rockfield Studios in Wales, Yorkshire Moors and also in the woods "On one of the verses of" No Bell left to Chime "I get on a little machine when she went in the woods near Bath, this was inspired in part by the roaming TV presenters on the show about the coast or the history of Britain, we chose to record unusual places to try to conjure up more of the spirit of each song "
Conrad was joined by a few prominent musicians for this record Charlie Jones time bass player with Robert Plant & Jimmy Page and Goldfrapp helped Clive Deamer and drummer Portishead and Roni Size The Earlies also join Conrad for a guest spot singing on the song "Call Me" drop on his way back from playing at Glastonbury Festival
Also guesting pthe disc is Orbital, Paul Hartnoll who helped with the songwriting duties on "Malcolm" and several layers of wonder that is "Shun" "I tried to re-dress the balance of acoustic sounds to electronic sounds on the album and I got the idea to ask Paul if he wants collaborate on a few songs as he did, I knew what I did with him would fit on a Merz protocol, since there are already threads in what I do which leads back to Orbital "
Conrad admits to drawing up rules for Paul Hartnoll he wanted Moi et Mon Camion to be a very English album "I think it is English in every possible way, the lyrics sound all the way One of the things I always liked Orbital was how much their music evoked Englishness" And so it is with "Malcolm "is an anthem to West Yorkshire tells the story of an eccentric philosopher whose thoughts running in and out of reality also hired master flugal horn player John Doyle, who plays for The Black Dyke Mills Band the top brass band in the country (he says he was head hunted by The Grime Thorpe Collery Band band that appeared in the film Brassed Off) you do not get much more English than that!
If Love Heart was a more lonely and solitary affair Moi et Mon Camion puts her arms around Love Heart and says that everything is okay It is the spirit of the code, it contains themes of displacement with detached resignation humanity and community "A likely candidate for album of the year it is the special" 5 / 5 Sunday Times Pop CD Of The Week "Conrad Lambert shows what kind of talan gone pop award judges should not be allowed to ignore the "5 / 5 Independent Album of the Week " Lambert is an outstanding talent ... an album of subtle enchantment of "The Observer " Lovely "4 / 5 independent information, " Moi et Mon Camion is Sunday morning comfort music with a whimsical edge " the Observer Music Monthly " Did Thom Yorke penned anything as moving as the "Silver Moon Ladders "or" us assume too much "for his solo album, the applause was still ringing" 4 / 5 Uncut "Intricate melodic songs that blend electronica and folk music ... underestimated heartfelt stuff "4 / 5 Q " With English as the wet grass this healthy record hums with the promise of the coming spring "Word Magazine " His lacing of guitars and electronica serve up ett range ärställda him bounce from quasi-Elizabethan balladeer to junk rocker ... It is the beautiful "First and last Waltz" which hints Lambert's forthcoming album will be something to try "4 / 5 Guardian " 4 / 5 "Mojo " Ten striking thoughtful songs "4 / 5 Times 'A delicate sweet singing tour de force "4 / 5 Sun " Unsettlingly good "7 / 10 NME 'Moi et Mon Camion is a mature melodic wonders" Clash "spellbinding" IDJ "Fans of Coldplay (Merz enthusiasts themselves) ... do well to pay attention now, even if the Merz instrumentation - mandolin, accordion and ukelele Wurlitzer piano with guitar synthesizers and drum machine - that marks out his crucial difference Do not let him slip away again, "Time Out
