Tindersticks
released their second self-titled album in 1995, the [II] was inserted by me
for the sake of differentiating it from their first album. At a measly 16 tracks and a mere 70 minutes
it’s seven minutes shorter than its predecessor, mostly eschewing short
interludes to create arguably a more focused album.
Whichever way
you look at it, it’s certainly the equal of their debut. El Diablo en el Ojo sets the scene, all
brooding vocals and foreboding atmospheres.
A run of three really strong songs follows. The breathlessly moody A Night In kicks it
off, Stuart Staples singing “I know you’re hurting and I won’t be there for
you” over swooning strings. The more
playful, spoken word My Sister follows on before the hugely dramatic Tiny
Tears, a tale of “lying in bed for a week now” before the sweeping chorus of
“tiny tears make up an ocean.”
The album
really peaks with these three songs and it would be understandable if it failed
to replicate these highs. But here, the
good songs keep on coming, too numerous to list here but I’ll mention two more of
them: The muted No More Affairs is
sparser than many of the tracks here, giving Staples’ baritone loads of space
to breathe. Another high point is
Travelling Light, Stuart Staples duetting with Carla Torgensen of the
Walkabouts to great effect.
All these
tracks are underpinned by a really good band of musicians on an album that
conjures up a world of its own. So not
the most unbiased review then, but if you’re wondering what Tindersticks are
about, you could start here.
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