Tindersticks - The Waiting Room

Tindersticks
The Waiting Room
2016
Tindersticks - The Waiting Room

Putting music from the Tindersticks into words creates a very specific problem. Their music is so varied and different, it can go anyway and then switch on a whim yest still sound super clean and incredibly tight. At the heart of it The Waiting Room, their 11th record, is a lounge record. Heavy bass, a slight swing but not intrusive enough to interrupt the flirting going on in the back of the bar. The tracks on this record are varied and distinct in their own right, but it seems as those this record is meant to be listened to in one sitting, and experience rather than a song to listen to over an over again. Each song spills into the next with the effortless skill that Tindersticks has. The light touch that the band uses makes for a sound that in other hands would border on the twee, but with them it is just the right amount. Stuart Staples, the lead singer of the group has a voice that is not classically beautiful but matches the vibe of the band better than anything else. This is the exact person you want to be signing this music and listening to it any other way would just seem wrong. This album much like Beyonce and Justin Bieber have done in the past is accompanied by a music video per song creating almost a movie based on a record or something in that vein.  

For all the great aspects of this record however there are a few things that are a bit off putting. "How He Entered" is more of a spoken word tracks, which just feels out of place. The music beneath the words is melodic and sweet but you have Stuart Staples talking about something that is neither interesting or overly engaging. Another issues is that the Tindersticks seem to linger on one line of music for a bit to long. Especially when Staples is not singing the band will hang on one groove or another and just stick with it even though it feels like a change should be coming. There is also a lack of diversity in the song writing on this album. Every song is either about love or lack there of and by the 11th track of this you are more than ready for something else, even a change in tempo would be nice. We do get a weird voyage into the psychedelic on "We Are Dreamers!" the second to last track, but the song itself is so odd that it even being included on the album is a bit of a head scratcher. There are really incredible pieces of this record and as a whole it is quite a bit better than much of what's out there but I can't see this making it's way on to many people's playlists anytime soon.

7.1 out of 10