A new Lambchop album generally means one thing to reviewers: it's time to get out the superlative handbook and start hurling away. The new record, Is a Woman, is no exception to this rule; it does everything it's supposed to do to get good reviews from discerning critics. But here's the jackpot question in advance: does this a good album make?

In this case, yes -- especially when you place the record in context with Lambchop's previous output. Is a Woman, the sixth record from (as their label, Merge Records, brands them) "Nashville's most fucked-up country band," is a pretty huge departure from past releases. To put it concisely, it's quieter. Basically, the album is a collection of 11 indie torch songs for the sensitively bitter and the bitterly sensitive.

Is a Woman is full of stunning musical moments, and principal lamb rack Kurt Wagner (vocals, guitar, acetone, Casio) wraps his Bill-Callahan-meets-David-Bowie voice and phrasing style around lyrics that would make Cole Porter proud. Check out the first two lines of "Autumn's Vicar," for example: "Chickadee tosses leaves out of her nester / My uncles' uncle's uncle fester." Is a Woman is not for the kind of people who don't listen to the words.

Wagner overcomes two fairly daunting obstacles on the new Lambchop offering. First, he's found a new way to be eclectic. Lambchop are nothing if not eclectic -- they've been known to mix everything from country and soul to jazz and free-form noise -- but even eclecticism can turn into a formula if you're not careful. But Is a Woman is eclectic to Lambchop because it sustains a consistent mood throughout; they've never tried that before. Second, Wagner has somehow managed to make a singer-songwriter record whilst playing in a band comprised of upwards of a dozen people. How he kept the guitarists' egos in check is beyond me, but he did it -- and the results are amazing. Buy this record for the girl you like.