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 additionalchoir recordings in London and Minneapolis.

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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