Dignity & Shame
Erich Bachman continues his plunge into good ole Americana on the Crooked Fingers’ fourth longplayer. This time, it’s a Southwestern-leaning record; the opening track, "Islero," is a delightful, mariachi-inspired instrumental. TheseCalexico-ish touches, however, are primarily window-dressing, as it’s not like Bachman’s really changed his Springsteen-in-Appalachia style. The album’s tunes are all sincere, at times painfully so. These are stripped-down and confessional songs that, while musically good and everything, yearn strongly for better lyrics--either the weighty poetry of aLeonard Cohenor the ironic remove of aJoe Pernice. As it is, the songs seem to sit on the fence, never fully drawing the listener into their tales of love gone wrong. A notable exception is "Call to Love," a straight-ahead burner which sounds more than a little like a collaboration betweenthe EelsandTom Petty.--Mike McGonigal