Waiting for the Moon
Waiting for the Moonfinds Tindersticks staying resolutely on the path that first won them praise in the early '90s, as well as a slew of comparisons toNick Cave,Lee Hazlewood, andLeonard Cohen. Since their emergence, Tindersticks have thrived by building bold romantic soundscapes around the themes of despair and heartbreak. Following the brooding majesty of theirsoundtrackto the bloodthirsty art-house flickTrouble 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 theVelvet Underground's "Heroin." French-Canadian singerLhasa De Selaadds 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