Crooked Fingers, 'Breaks in the Armor' (Merge)

REVIEWSCrooked Fingers, ‘Breaks in the Armor’

SPIN Rating:8 of 10
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Release Date: October 11, 2011
Label: Merge

October 11 2011, 2:30 PM ET
by Kenny Herzog

There have been moments in Crooked Fingers' consistent, decade-plus oeuvre when Eric Bachmann's songwriting elevates to a startling new level of sophistication. On Breaks in the Armor, that aha feeling arrives during "The Counterfeiter," a subtly rousing track constructed on plucky rhythms, sneaky vocal arrangements, and rueful lyrics ("All of the doctors know you're faking"). Armor is Bachmann's most vigorous post-Archers of Loaf full-length since 2003's Red Devil Dawn. Only the drab, ramshackle "Back Candles" briefly weighs down an ?otherwise gorgeous, toothy record from indie rock's most refreshingly unpretentious auteur.