Lady Lamb Broadens Her Palette On 'After'

Aly Spaltro has come a long way from her years writing songs in the basement of a video store where she worked in Brunswick, Maine. Back then, the songwriter and guitarist recorded under the name Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and crafted contemplative and uninhibited songs into the early hours of the morning. As one might expect based on those late night writing sessions, Spaltro's music often begins with intimately sung melodies -- but then, suddenly, she crackles with distorted power. It's a sound that Lady Lamb first honed on stage, where she could enthrall a crowd with just an electric guitar and voice, and later, further expanded on her very fine 2013 debut, Ripely Pine.

Now, with her follow-up, After (out March 3) Spaltrow subtracts the "Beekeeper" from her moniker, but adds so much more: Lady Lamb's folk-based rockers are catchier and bite a little harder, thanks to adventurous swooning arrangements that take advantage of working with a full band. You can hear that in heftier instrumentation in "Violet Clementine" or "Atlas," but also in the punchy bursts of guitars in songs like "Vena Cava" and "Heretic." But After also finds Lady Lamb embracing pop hooks (like on "Spat Out Spit") that bounce in your ears long after the song has faded. Despite its wider palette, it's Lady Lamb's vivid lyrics that not only tie these songs together, but cut deep emotionally -- like in "Billions Of Eyes" where she opens with the lines, "When gravity’s a palm pushing down on your head / Like the devil’s got a paw dug in your shoulder / And the other one is rubbing your back."

Set List:

• "You Are The Apple"
• "Billions Of Eyes"
• "Spat Out Spit"