Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw

The luxurious sound conjured on Tindersticks’ long-overdue return appears to justify the frustrations and convulsions of an eventful and painful five-year-long disappearance. The record is a simply sumptuous effort, leaving the listener bathed in the opulence of a band clearly thrilled to be making music again.

Since the Nottingham collective last recorded together, the line-up has been trimmed to a core of three original members, while singer Stuart Staples now has two solo albums under his belt. There is a reinvigorated comfort and togetherness to the sound, shown in the steady progression of ‘Boobar’, with its wounded harmonies and circular structure.

The focal point of their compositions remains the dreamlike, smoky vocals of Staples. His injured utterances shape and match the understated gloom and glory of the expert playing. He appears, triumphantly desolate, in every melody. Having begun with a lengthy, plodding instrumental, the album is shook into life with his velvety moan on ‘Yesterday Tomorrow’, the most instantly accessible track on show.

The break seems to have enriched the group with an uncomplicated ease that ensures their seventh album, which includes lavish strings and long instrumentals, isn’t (too) guilty of posturing. The delicate acoustic strum of ‘All The Love’ is a ballad relying on nothing but a few simple chords and that hollow, anguished voice. They aren’t trying too hard, but equally aren’t burying any half-baked idea into the songs.

Nevertheless, at times ‘The Hungry Saw’ is exhausting. Admittedly, three instrumental songs will grate on an audience used to immediacy and laconic, audible rewards. However, the tantalising allure of the title track’s jerky shuffle, or the gruelling splendour of ‘The Other Side Of The World’, lies in a reliance on tensions constantly built and overlapped but not always fulfilled.

A few numbers miss; too elaborate and drifting into pretentiousness, or not doing enough and becoming tedious. Still, the effortlessness with which Tindersticks re-emergence sails past is testament to its consistency and quality. It washes over, growing richer in texture with each listen. If every band was certain to return from lengthy hiatuses with comebacks like this, they would all be advised to take a rest.