Powder Burns

Twilight Singers

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2006)
• Original Release Date: May 16, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: One Little Indian Us
• ASIN: B000EWBMVA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,265 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Recorded in New Orleans a few months after Katrina devastated it, generators at the ready to supply electricity when the power failed, Powder Burns is former Afghan Whigs frontdude Greg Dulli's finest work in a decade. It's widely and wisely been hailed as the most solid Twilight Singers release to date, as it combines the sultry and hazy lounge air of the first three Singers records with the scorched earth intensity of the Whigs. Fancy guests abound--Ani DiFranco, Joseph Arthur, former A.W. bassist John Curley--but the focus rarely strays from Dulli's sex-soaked, melodramatic croon. "I Wish I Was" sounds like a great lost Chocolate Genius song until the bombastic chorus kicks in. There are dozens of elements here--super multi-tracked choruses, Beatles-referring hooks, ridonculously classic rock guitar solos, vaguely dance-y drum programming, rousing piano lines, etc.--that would sound poseur-y or played out most anywhere else. But on Powder Burns, they just sound like damn good music. --Mike McGonigal

About the Artist

Greg Dulli – known and loved by many as the leader of pioneering alt-rockers afghan whigs – has recorded another album (his fourth) under the celebrated twilight singers’ moniker; and it’s a veritable masterpiece.

Dulli has long been appreciated as a unique voice. His lyrics are well-told personal yarns delivered with a ravenous intensity—which isn’t to say that Dulli doesn’t know how to write a great rock n’ roll tune. As the New York Times was spurred to comment "Mr. Dulli is finally a guy who simply knows how to make music that feels good in the ear".

With every new recording Dulli cements his place as a national musical treasure, consistently turning out great albums bursting with a soulfulness too often missing from ‘rock’ records. Clearly enjoying the freedom allowed by the twilight singers’ ever revolving lineup, Dulli has pulled together an eclectic and viciously gifted lot for powder burns. Joseph Arthur, Ani DiFranco and Scott Bennett appear on the record, along with a guest spot from fellow afghan whig, bassist John Curley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Twilight Singers pick up where "Blackberry Belle" left off, May 21, 2006

By	Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Twilight Singers, essentially singer-songwriter Greg Dulli's continuation of the Afghan Whigs (who disbanded after its last album in 1998), issued one of 2003's best albums, "Blackberry Belle", which they then followed with the not very interesting all-covers album "She Loves You" the next year.

"Powder Burns" (12 tracks, 49 min.) picks up the thread nicely from "Blackberry Belle". The sound and themes are familiar: loneliness, despair, yet somewhere also hope. After a short instumental intro, the album crashes into you with "I'm Ready", an arena-sized rocker. The first half of the album is almost flawless, with "Bonnie Brae" and "Forty Dollars" as the other standouts, the latter containing many Beatles references (and, yes, a shout-out to "She Loves You, Yea, Yea Yea"!). On the slower tracks, such as "Candy Cane Crawl" and "The Conversation", I can't help but be reminded of Peter Gabriel's sound somehow. The second half of the album is not as intense, although the title track is quite mesmerising (and intense!), with a hope-lifiting outro of ocean waves crashing.

It's still a mystery to me why the Afghan Whigs, with all their critical acclaim, were never able to cross into mainstream-alternative success. Greg Dulli, however, has not looked back, and continues to make outstanding albums, now with the Twilight Singers. And if you have the chance to catch these guys live, don't miss them, the Twilight Singers' shows are an experience!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ....................................................................................................................., May 16, 2006

By	A. Horvath - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With everything thats happened in New Orleans the past 9 months it's hard for anyone who has been through that not to be floored by this record. Like Blackberry Belle, the city drips from this record. From the death of his closest friend Ted Demme
to the near total devestation of one of his beloved haunts, all the while struggling with his own inner addictions, Dulli works
magic under tragedy. It's hard not to see utter destruction and
human tragedy when that wall of sound hits in Bonnie Brae or
feel that misplaced daylight in Theres Been An Accident. The strongest tracks in my opinion has to be the brutal honest Candy
Cane Crawl and I Wish I Was both of which with the right mixture can bring you to tears.This album is not as immediate
as some of his other work. But as these tracks unwind themselves
and the story blooms you'll be gasping for air. Do yourself a
favor pick this up and for GOD SAKE go see them live.I hope Greg
makes albums as long as he can breathe

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Proof that music ain't dead yet., July 23, 2006

By	Luke Rounda "ThreeStarSmash.com" (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews

There are people out there listening to the radio. They want to be rescued. Long since tired of riding dirty on a honkytonk badonkadonk that makes one want to la-la, there are some that would argue that Y2K was really the day the music died. (If not even sooner, but those folks didn't like Nirvana, Alice in Chains or Soundgarden. Go figure.)

Well, anyone who's heard "Gentlemen" or "Congregation" or any other record by the Afghan Whigs should be yelling "Rescue me, Dulli!" And on "Powder Burns," Greg's delivered the goods.

Possibly the most soul-infused yet forward-thinking rock record since the Whigs' "Black Love," the new Twilight Singers record still shouldn't be construed as an Afghan Whigs album without the name. Despite Dulli wearing lead singer shoes, which definitely aids in stamping any project with a signature raspy-throated, tunelessly-endearing sound, the backing band and instrumentation are a far cry from the rabies-inflicted punk animal that was the Whigs. Sure, it's dirty, dirty, grungy blues-rock, but one might be surprised what creeps into a song here and there. "Bonnie Brae" is a melancholy headbanger that could almost be called blue-collar shoegaze. Piano and violin pepper tracks like "There's Been An Accident," while rushing, watery electronic influence is lovingly splashed here and there, most obviously on the intro piece "Toward the Waves"/"I'm Ready."

Of course to think ahead, people usually end up looking back to see how good music was made in the first place. Dulli liked smashing Beatles riffs around on his covers record so much that he's taken to purloining lyrics, too, reframing the timeless refrain of "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah" with a derisive sneer and a cranky guitar din ("Forty Dollars").

Not every word on "Powder Burns" is an homage, however. Lyrically, Dulli has always struck me as a singing Charles Bukowski. Sometimes it's exactly who you need to hear from to fall asleep at night when you're too bleary-eyed to read.