In the five years that have passed since their last studio album (Waiting for the Moon, 2003), Stuart Staples and Tindersticks have shed three members and constructed a studio in France. They've also managed to write a record that doesn't stray too far from the soulful ballads of their past, but breaks new ground with some "not so serious after all" tunes about the devil's hunt for your literal heart.

After such a long break, it seems providential that Staples & Co. have found another album's worth of their brooding soul noir songs waiting for them in the corners of their European practice space. As independent music scenes slowly become tired by the cacophony of everything-all-the-time pseudo-orchestral pop, Tindersticks resurface at an opportune moment. Their spacious, haunting songs intimate their quiet role in the state of things today, but they creep beyond the limitations of the we've-been-around-awhile routine with an authenticity that never goes out of style.

After a quiet piano introduction, the album snaps into motion with "Yesterday's Tomorrows" a song that packs quite a punch in Tindersticks land. Busty tambourine, reverb-heavy guitar strokes and a lilting flute in stark contrast with Staples' anchoring baritone combine in a soft and shadowed unison, only to give way to a subtle but triumphant brass section's crescendo. The relationship between the orchestration and Staples' voice is perhaps the most interesting one to watch as the songs unfold, and this is very common territory for those well-versed in the band's catalog. Ethereal bells, chimes, woodwinds, shakers and almost carefree acoustic guitar can easily distract the listener from the subject matter of "The Flicker of a Little Girl" ("Too many deaths and betrayals, too many lies") which Staples grounds into the lower registers firmly. Still, as his own back up vocals flitter in ooohs and ahhs across the bridge, one of the record's most magical moments reveals itself for just a moment, as everything is simultaneously floating, almost cheerful.

"Feel the Sun" and "The Organist Entertains" are more reliable for those looking for traditional Tindersticks pieces of otherworldly, almost Lynchian darkness. Sweeping violins across a backdrop of carnival organs, the unchanging heartbeat of a quiet kick, slow crash swells and lots of black keys flavor the entire album with soulful, if foggy, austerity. The sweet patience of love's many hidden consequences rise and fall as Staples' voice melts gently against even the most windswept arrangements, high points arriving again and again but leaving breathing room with both composition and delivery. The title track is perhaps the most out of all the tunes, though, as it unapologetically delivers upbeat snaps, looping vocal shh's and a chorus you almost can't help but sing along to, despite the fact that we're singing about the devil, standing at your door with his saw, waiting to work on your skin, muscle, and bone with glee. There's an intimation of humor between the despair of the metaphor and the song's relentless happiness which we're happy to dwell on for a while, during those quiet moments between clattering hearts at dusk and grey mornings at the devil's doorstep.

Tindersticks [MySpace] [Official

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