|
 Tindersticks
| Waiting For The Moon
a jade jett review
Study the faces on the cover of the Tindersticks' new album, Waiting
for the Moon, and you'll see a range of emotion on display. Start
from the top left and you might find resignation, bitterness,
bliss, apathy, anguish, and angst. Look again and you're bound
to discover something entirely different. Like a Mona Lisa smile,
these portraits are open to interpretation, yet it's interesting
that the same subjective expressions are reflected within the
songs on their newest outing, 'Waiting For The Moon'.
"Until
The Morning Comes" opens their sixth studio album with the
lines "My hands 'round your throat. If I kill you now, well
they'll never know." This is classic Tindersticks territory.
Drenched in melancholy and sweetness, it's sad sack music of a
slightly different cast than their darker 2001 album, Can Our
Love. Waiting For The Moon continues the tradition of maintaining
that feeling of intense longing stretched over a rain-spattered
English countryside, yet the tone is looser - less hard done by.
This isn't of the 'you've left me and now I'm going to go hang
myself in the barn type' mindset. This is a marked departure with
a distinctly calmer sentiment of making peace with demons, having
moved on and finally let go.
While
the songs boast lush string arrangements and soaring orchestrations,
it's Stuart Staples' wondrous and distinctive voice that lies
at the core of Tindersticks. "Say Goodbye to the City"
and "Sweet Memory" showcases Staples' voice in top form.
His honey-flecked vocals burnished in scotch and regret recall
the spirit of Leonard Cohen, Ian Curtis and Nick Cave. Throw in
a healthy dose of Lee Hazlewood and you have one serious old-school
crooner - a rare breed hardly seen within the concrete landscape
of our fast-moving times.
"Trying
to Find a Home" cuts through the angst with a smooth soulful
R&B vibe. The laid-back approach continues on "Sometimes
It Hurts," a duo featuring French-Canadian singer Lhasa de
Sela. The track is a modern-day Margaritaville with shades of
Burt Bacharach and Hal David overtop a groovy sixties soundtrack
and swinging string arrangements. Unfortunately, de Sela's fine
dusky voice are overshadowed by Staples' mellifluous tones. "My
Oblivion" is another compelling example, blanketing dark,
velvety vocals over a "Days of Wine and Roses" refrain.
"Just a Dog" veers sharply out of Tindersticks domain
with an upbeat country cowpoke saloon tune, complete with a harmonica-laden
"Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" type vibe.
'Waiting
for the Moon' proves a refreshing change for the Tindersticks.
The dark cloud still looms large, yet we finally see the silver
lining. But the sweet is never as sweet without the sour - something
the band has come to realize - as the tenderest of moments reveal
the deepest of cuts. This is bittersweet 3 a.m. fare, perfect
for a quiet, solitary evening of inner reflection.
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