Moonpix and Tindersticks

First round I had two picks from my list, so that wasn't too hard. Last round I had two albums I don't own, so both were fresh and it wasn't that hard to be objective. This time I had MoonPix (full disclosure, #3 on my list) vs. Tendersticks, who I had never heard before. I definitely found it hard, in the end, to judge between an album you have listened to over and over vs. an album you are listening to for the first time. One of the reasons it took me so long is that I really tried to give both albums a valid listen. I figured Tindersticks at least had a chance becuase I definitely felt after the fact that I had Moonpix too high on my list anyway, and I had listened to a lot recently, so I had to figure out if I really liked it that much, or if it just made it on my list and at such a high spot mainly due to the man-crushes I would develop on a young Karl Voskuil as he passionately crooned Colors and the Kids around the campfire. Some whiskey, a campfire, and an earnest Karl make for a killer rendition.

The first thing that struck me about Tindersticks, as you can imagine, is Stuart Staples voice. I was attracted to it immediately, as it evoked Stephin Merritt for me, and at times Leonard Cohen. In listening to mistakes, I picked up a new quality of his voice that I couldn't put a finger on, but I guess I finally described it as feeling like he was in the room with me. There are some beautiful choruses on the album, including A Night In and Tiny Tears. Also, there's some beautiful orchestral backing on much of the album. In the latter half of the album, there are some songs with a strong dissonant feel. I appreciated the dissonance on Seaweed. Not so much on the instrumental Vertrauen II. Talk to Me just seemed like a lot of noise to me. There's a beautiful female voice on Travelling Light and I really dig the song and the dialogue between the two vocalists, "I travel light/No you don't/I'm traveling light/No, you don't travel light" At first listen, I didn't think there were going to be similarities to Cat Power at all, but by the end, I feel like these albums have a very similar feel. At the time these two albums were written, I bet you could go on a mean bender with these two and talk about some dark shit. I think Stuart Staples came up with a bunch of his songs while drunk at the bar with Chan Marshall. Both albums are quite poetic and the darkness didn't feel that depressing to me, although perhaps it would have a while back. Overall, I enjoyed Tindersticks. I gave the live disc a cursory listen while reading and doing school work. I enjoyed some of the arrangements more than the album versions, and I"m sure they'd be cool to see live, especially with an orchestra backing. Overall, although I did enjoy the album, it didn't grab me in any special way. Maybe it's because it was my first time listening to it, but it just didn't level me or anything. I'm not sure that I would seek it out, or put it on that often, even though I did enjoy it.

As I said above, I haven't listened to Moonpix much lately, so I was interested to see how I'd respond. I was half expecting to be disappointed, but I was wrong. I realized I really do like the album. Cat Power just works for me in a way that Tindersticks doesn't necessarily. I don't know exactly what it is. I like the simple guitar melodies that guide the songs, a slow repetitive guitar picked melody works for me. I love her voice. I like the flute on He Turns Down, the multiple tracks of her voice on No Sense and the Thunderstorms on Say. Some of the lyrics aren't anything special, but there are some that struck me. In Say, "Let us hold fast to sayhing the same thing." Yes, there's lot of depression here, but it didn't make me depressed. Maybe it's because I've read Chan Marshall's doing better now. And then there's Color and the Kids. If you've been around that campfire, you love this song. nuff said.

In the end, Tindersticks didn't do enough for me to knock off an album that I'm reminded that I really love.