And the award for least probable reunion of 2009 goes to...

Yes, I bet those of you who hit puberty in the 90s never expected to hear from Lamb again. Sometime after the release of Portishead's Dummy, hardcore Jungle producer Andy Barlow decided to replace all of his synths with acoustic instruments and a singer, Lou Rhodes. Lamb were never as stunningly talented as Massive Attack or Tricky, but they were as innovative. Their first three albums were all very good, but Fear of Fours is my favorite, by far. You have never heard kickass breakbeats work so well with a sampled tuba, acoustic bass or lute (yes, the album has a lute on it). And Rhode's languid, coffeehouse vocals just wrap perfectly around the whole, perverse arrangement. As if by psychic entanglement, I started spinning this record again recently, just weeks before they announced their reunion and tour (and they are coming to my city!). It hasn't aged a bit.

Download