Curtains
With the rich, bourbon voice of Stuart Staples, incredibly lush orchestral arrangements with soaring strings, and brooding and melancholic lyrics, Tindersticks always threaten to go over the top into the netherworld of obtuseness. But somehow they pull it off, creating, in the process, some of the most beautiful, complex and dense music set to wax.Curtainsrealizes the considerable promise of their first two acclaimed records with such wonderful cuts as "Rented Rooms," "Desperate," and the John Irving-esque "Bearsuit."  Best of all, though, is the charmingly tongue-in-cheek bonus track, "Marriage Made in Heaven" which features a duet with Isabella Rossellini, who, though a much more accomplished actress than singer, provides a charming and accurate vocal counterpart to the swooning Mr. Staples: "He just groans and moans."--Tod Nelson