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Waiting for the Moon finds Tindersticks staying resolutely on the path that first won them praise in the early '90s, as well as a slew of comparisons to
Nick Cave,
Lee Hazlewood, and
Leonard Cohen. Since their emergence, Tindersticks have thrived by building bold romantic soundscapes around the themes of despair and heartbreak. Following the brooding majesty of their
soundtrack to the bloodthirsty art-house flick
Trouble Every Day, South London's reliably morose troubadours have returned with another dose of aching lyrical desolation and sweeping melodies.
Waiting for the Moon's first line sets the tone as frontman Stuart Staples enunciates, "My hands around your throat, if I kill you now they will never know".Breaking from the sublime string-heavy norm, "4.48 Psychosis" (which features lyrics from Sarah Kane's play of the same name) is build around tumbling, distorted guitar that recalls the
Velvet Underground's "Heroin." French-Canadian singer
Lhasa De Sela adds Gallic flavor to "Sometimes It Hurts," while "Just a Dog" finds Staples howling at the night. When it comes to dour balladry and Goth cabaret, Tindersticks deliver with disarming regularity.
--Christopher Barrett
Product Description
The sixth studio album is of such lushness, romanticism, and power, it will, for many, become the classic Tindersticks album. 10 tracks. Digipak. Beggars Banquet. 2003.