Artist: Tindersticks
Label: Beggars Banquet Group
Release: 2008
Rating: 3.5/5
Tindersticks are a pretty seasoned English rock band from Nottingham. It’s really more of a collaboration between singer Stuart Staples and keyboardist David Boulter, who are for the most part solely responsible for all the band’s music. They’ve been on the scene since the early ’90s and have put out quite a few albums. Now they’re back after a five-year break with their seventh studio record. The time off clearly did them good, because they’ve come back with a really excellent album.
That Tindersticks made such a quality record isn’t exactly surprising, since they’ve got plenty of experience and quite a few fine achievements under their belt. What is surprising is that they pulled off an album like this after the departure of key member and multi-instrumentalist Dickon Hinchliffe, who left them in 2006. But his exit apparently felt like a kind of liberation and made it easier to move on, because the new album The Hungry Saw sounds really good.
In many ways you could compare Tindersticks to Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Staples’ voice isn’t as deep and dark as Cave’s, but the music behind it is sometimes pretty similar. The gloomy organ especially deserves a mention, since it often brings The Bad Seeds to mind. But Tindersticks have plenty of aces of their own, too. Quite a few tracks on the album feature gorgeous orchestral arrangements, dominated by woodwinds and strings. The orchestration is never pushy; it’s always nicely woven into the compositions. There are also a few more folk-leaning songs, where the acoustic guitar and lovely flute arrangements really stand out. On those tracks, Tindersticks even remind you a bit of Leonard Cohen. Most of the songs are built around the interplay between vocals and organ or piano. There’s a lot of guitar too, and, as I mentioned, the orchestral parts that make Tindersticks truly unique. The album also has three instrumentals, where keyboardist David Boulter gets his moment to shine. He plays some really lovely passages, on both piano and organ.
At times the band plays old-school psychedelic “dark” rock, roughly like Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, which you notice above all in the excellent use of organ. There’s also plenty of soul in the music and a bit of jazz (especially when the bigger wind instruments chime in), plus some modern alternative rock (again, you could draw parallels between them and Nick Cave).
Tindersticks may not be a band that boasts spectacular technical chops, but there’s a huge amount of atmosphere in their music, created above all by David Boulter’s organ, Stuart Staples’ voice and the string and wind orchestra. It’s full of melodies that stick in your ear, but there are also quite a few more unexpected twists. You can’t accuse them of just following some pre-drawn path; they’ve got plenty of tricks of their own.
Tindersticks have a lot of aces up their sleeve. They can play “darker” music in the vein of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds just as well as more straightforward pop/rock or folk songs. But whatever they play, it always sounds very pleasing and very “art”. The music isn’t the slightest bit commercial, yet it’s accessible enough to get under your skin pretty quickly. Sure, Tindersticks aren’t exactly party animals or hard rockers, but musically they’re excellent. At times the music has a slightly melancholic touch, so the die-hard rockers won’t get their fill, but those who also enjoy more introspective music will be all the happier.
Lineup
Stuart Ashton Staples – vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Neil Timothy Fraser – guitar
David Leonard Boulter – keyboards, guitar, percussion
Guests: Thomas Belhom – drums, percussion, Calina de la Mare – violin, Terry Edwards – trumpet and saxophone, Joanne Fraser – flute, Caroline Hall – trombone, Sally Hibbert – violin, Dan McKinna – bass guitar and backing vocals, Andy Nice – cello, Suzanne Osborne – backing vocals, Louise Peacock – violin, Julian Siegel – bass clarinet, Lucy Wilkins – violin, Sara Wilson – cello, Sarah Jane Wilson – cello
Production
Stuart Ashton Staples
Track list
1. Introduction 3:32
2. Yesterdays Tomorrows 3:49
3. The Flicker of a Little Girl 3:30
4. Come Feel the Sun 2:28
5. E-Type 2:54
6. The Other Side of the World 4:12
7. The Organist Entertains 2:33
8. The Hungry Saw 3:46
9. Mother Dear 4:19
10. Boobar Come Back to Me 3:58
11. All the Love 4:53
12. The Turns We Took 8:01
