Tindersticks, 'The Hungry Saw' (Constellation)

Luckless lotharios seduce suavely, then suddenly lose mojo.

Powered by rattling drums, simmering organ, and Stuart Staples' resonant baritone, the first half of Tindersticks' latest is a can't-miss proposition. On "Yesterdays Tomorrows," Staples conjures both stylish freaks (Nick Cave, say) and geeks (Lloyd Cole), while near-instrumental "E-Type" splashes drunken brass on deep-vibrato guitar. Too bad the disc's second half descends into a morass of half-finished, melancholic curios that mostly go nowhere slowly. Still, cast as tube-amped soundtracks for the lovelorn, "The Turns We Took" -- which apes Jimmy Webb's deathless "Wichita Lineman" -- and the strings-laced "Mother Dear" are veritable bum-out anthems.

Comments

Got something to say?

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • No HTML tags allowed
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Use <!--pagebreak--> to create page breaks.

More information about formatting options

Are You Human?
If so, enter the four-letter code below.
Image CAPTCHA