Tindersticks, 'The Hungry Saw' (Constellation)
Luckless lotharios seduce suavely, then suddenly lose mojo.
By Shannon Zimmerman 10.02.08 3:42 PM
Powered by rattling drums, simmering organ, and Stuart Staples' resonant baritone, the first half of Tindersticks' latest is a can't-miss proposition. On "Yesterdays Tomorrows," Staples conjures both stylish freaks (Nick Cave, say) and geeks (Lloyd Cole), while near-instrumental "E-Type" splashes drunken brass on deep-vibrato guitar.
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Mercury Rev, 'Snowflake Midnight' (Yep Roc)
Flaming who? Visionary group makes lovely melodies, not war.
By Shannon Zimmerman 09.30.08 10:08 AM
Mercury Rev have built a career on fey bemusement, jolting potentially chilly soundscapes to life with yearning melodies and gurgling atmospherics -- a formula that could easily add up to hipster schmaltz if not for the band's wonderfully skewed arrangements.
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Ben Folds, 'Way to Normal' (Epic)
Ben there, done that -- crafty piano man hits creative impasse.
By Shannon Zimmerman 09.30.08 9:53 AM
On 2001's Rockin' the Suburbs, Ben Folds hit a career high, rendering melodic, detail-rich short stories peopled by, among others, a bored '80s girl sitting on a Peavey amp ("Zak and Sara") and a father confronting his son while dressed as a bird at his fast-food job ("Still Fighting It").
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Amanda Palmer, 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer' (Roadrunner)
Dresden Doll comes clean on brutally expressive diary purge.
By Shannon Zimmerman 09.16.08 9:47 AM
Manic and depressed, Amanda Palmer's solo debut is either artful psychobiography or deeply twisted dramatic monologue. Either way, the album is a dark gem, a high-IQ song cycle that combines guilt, neurotic lust, and low self-esteem into piano-based tunes that come studded with lyrical daggers.
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Giant Sand, 'proVisions' (Yep Roc)
Country sprouts quotation marks with curiously winning results.
By Shannon Zimmerman 09.03.08 2:43 PM
With its galumphing rhythms and down-home accents, provisions straddles the fence between parody and poetry, ultimately landing safely on its poetic ass, thanks to lines that transcend Flannery O’Connor 101: “Every girl is like a pearl / Hearts strung along and then left stranded,” ringleader Howe Gelb muses.
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Civet, 'Hell Hath No Fury' (Hellcat)
Festive femmes fatale break hearts in three chords or less.
By Shannon Zimmerman 08.20.08 1:39 PM
This California quartet treat the Ramones, the Runaways, and their forebears like piñatas: Crack 'em open and wait for the goodies to fall out.
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