Lamb - Fear Of Fours

Lamb - Fear Of Fours (Fontana) In the video for B.Line, the taster single off Fear Of Fours, Lou Rhodes and Andy Barlow - the duo that is Lamb - experience digitally enhanced metamorphoses into fantastically hideous creatures, to Rhodes' peculiar yelp of 'ba-dap, ba-dap, ba-dap'.

These moments of madness are perfect illustrations of Lamb's essence: by fusing flamboyant musical eccentricities with grand orchestral arrangements, the group hijacks the notion of beats and ambience and turns it into a new genre.

Fear Of Fours dispels the myth that Lamb are mere trip-hop clones. Broody and melancholic Lamb might be, but Rhodes and Barlow have always injected their music with a perverted, comical twist - Bonfire and Ear Parcel, for example, combine jazzy brass, urgent breakbeats and electronic ambience into swelling dance symphonies.

Even when not whipping up frantic sonic carnivals, the duo's ballads come with equal pomp and aplomb, as in All In Your Hands with its sweeping strings and swooping jabs in brass.

Strip away the sheep's clothing and many a vociferous gem awaits.