Search - Tindersticks :: Tindersticks

Dark, Urban Masterpiece

Marcelino Herrera | Los Angeles, CA | 06/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Has it really been ten years? Almost. What is sure is the fact this record is one of the most underrated, underapreciated and flat-out overlooked record our time. Music this beautiful, haunting, at times overbearingly depressing will always dwell far beneath the public eye, and while elitist, is part of what gives Tindersticks their charm. Very much like the mysterious gentleman or lady in the rear of the bar, down, yet dapper and collected, on the verge of tears, this music at first can seem quite unaproachable. For those of us who allowed ourselves to be immersed in the layers of somberness and calculated, delicate orhestrations, this has proven to be one of the most constantly rewarding records of our generation. Somewhere between Leonard Cohen's dense tales of loss, hope and regret, Isaac Hayes 70's soul string and horn arrangements and Miles Davis' penchant for coolness and restraint, this is soul music not borne out of troubled times in the 60's south, this is soul music for the insecure urbanites wallowing in a sea of self-doubt,prescription drugs and dark uptown bars right before closing time. Never again did the Tindersticks ever sound so glum, so brilliant and so on top of a world that was never quite ready for them, or just not willing to accept in them a part of themselves they would rather keep buried deep in the shadows of their subconcious past, a place the Tindersticks and their fans know all too well."

An Unforgettable Recording

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 06/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After hearing Tindersticks' debut album, I thought there was no way that the band could equal or surpass that masterpiece with any subsequent album. When I bought this sometime later, I maintained that opinion until I sat down and really listened to it.
Tindersticks II continues in the same vein mined by the first album: sadness, loneliness, confusion, and alienation abound.
Though I do not care for the whispery style of a couple of the cuts which make them hard to decipher, Tindersticks II is packed with the kind of morose, bittersweet, and melancholy songs that might have some ready to take the gas pipe, but that put me into an attitude of introspection and calm reflection on the vagaries of love and life. The "duende" in the music is palpable and that "duende" is what makes this such a masterful and unforgettable recording. And Stuart Staples' deep, rich and sensitive voice is the perfect vehicle for communicating that "duende".
My favorites include the spare and somber Tiny Tears with its lonely, soulful organ, the driving Snowy In F# Minor (so reminiscent of Arthur Lee), the instrumentals Vertrauen II and III, the spirited Talk to Me, the regretful No More Affairs, the lilting She's Gone, and the mournful Mistakes.
Also important is a fine duet featuring Stuart Staples and Carla Torgerson on Travelling Light, a tale of separation and recrimination.
Tindersticks II is a powerful recording that has earned a spot in my heavy rotation. I highly recommend this CD to any music fans who like a touch of darkness in their music. The only negative is the lack of lyrics with the liner notes. Check it out, Tindersticks won't disappoint you."