A classy sold out venue, a classy band, and the first gig in a long time for me that was all seated. Tindersticks do two sessions. They start with a 30 minute slot and they are all also seated for it. After an intermission (yeah it’s called that), they are back and they are (mainly) standing. There’s a touch of things moving upwards for the second set but it’s a light touch.
We’re slightly in Leonard Cohen territory, maybe even a touch of Nick Cave, with a deep baritone voice leading the way. There’s immaculate backing from various keys and guitars. The light touch of drums, more often percussion than rock n roll, utilising brushes extensively and with a subtle presence that keeps it all moving. It’s all about hints of a song, gentle sketching of melody and structure and falling into lovely repeated motifs from various instruments. Haunting would describe the overall feel and sound.
Willow from their first set and Walk Don’t Run in their second seem to encapsulate their sound, wistful, gentle, understated but catching the ear nonetheless. They have an ability to keep a counterpoint going and then bring it to the front before moving back into the main melody. There’s unusual time signatures that don’t feel jagged but flow gently. Bossa Nova and other latin rhythms are present but gently and never allowed to swamp the overall musical effect.
Tindersticks in their various incarnations have come a long way but are unmistakably themselves after all these years. From two charting albums in the mid 90s (Tindersticks and Curtains) and an on off period in the early 2000 – 2010s, its almost hard to believe that the latest work, Soft Tissue, is their 14th album.
WORDS BY RICHIE YATES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NEIL WINWARD
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