LAMBCHOP

The music made by Nashville's Lambchop is a whole different shade of Americana. It's rustic, mournful, and reverent of the long, dusty trail that leads from Depression-era folksingers all the way to modern-day alt-country shit-kickers. But the band's frontman, Kurt Wagner (its only constant since 1994's debut), writes songs that are lyrically richer and musically more expansive than those penned by the usual Hank Williams-worshipping troubadour. Yet Wagner is also Lambchop's biggest hurdle, a singer whose deep, deep baritone barely registers emotion. This is nothing new in country. Legends like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson have been criticized for exactly the same thing. But Wagner's voice is something else, a tomb-like boom that can instantly crush the life out of a song if you're not prepared for it. Not that the tunes need much help. The tracks on Lambchop's latest album, Mr. M, crawl at a pace that's the opposite of super-freakin' fast. They're all about the mood, at once gloomy and matter-of-fact. With White Pines. 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $15. – Michael Gallucci