The group Tindersticks from Nottingham is mainly the band of singer Stuart A. Staples. An important backing for his sonorous and minor voice, however, was always keyboardist and violinist Dickon Hinchcliffe, who, in particular with his string arrangements, was able to give color to the always dark sounds of the group. Although Hinchcliffe has left the group, Staples releases after two solo albums,
… with two original members The Hungry Saw under the Tindersticks banner. Tindersticks is also unmistakably what sounds like when, after a desolate piano intro, the haunted white soul ballad Yesterday's Tomorrows resounds. Where solo artist Staples focused more on songs, the soothing, midnight atmosphere of records like Curtains en (1997) and Simple Pleasures (1999) dominates again. The group unfortunately does not manage to hold on to this and then goes on strange experiments (like the strange chopper guitar in the otherwise so moody title track) in an incoherent collection of songs. Some of those songs are certainly not bad, but the dimensions that Hinchcliffe managed to add are definitely missed. (MR)more
