The Hungry Saw
The Hungry Saw | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 28 April 2008 | |||
Recorded | June–August 2007 | |||
Studio | Le Chien Chanceaux, France Eastcote, London Olympic, London | |||
Genre | Chamber pop | |||
Length | 45:23 | |||
Label | Beggars Banquet | |||
Producer | Stuart A. Staples | |||
Tindersticks chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Hungry Saw | ||||
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The Hungry Saw is the seventh studio album by British alternative band
Two songs from the album, "The Hungry Saw" and "Boobar Come Back to Me", were released as singles. Critics noted that the album stayed close to the soul-influenced sound that Tindersticks had been exploring since their 1999 album Simple Pleasure, and praised the band for their consistency. The Hungry Saw was met with generally positive reviews.
Background and recording
Musical differences had come to a head during the recording of Tindersticks' previous album Waiting for the Moon in 2003, and the band entered an extended hiatus.[1] Island Records issued remastered and expanded versions of the band's first four studio albums and the Nénette et Boni soundtrack, along with a compilation album that documented Tindersticks' time with Island entitled Working for the Man, in 2004.[2] Singer Stuart Staples started the Lucky Dog record label and released his debut solo album, Lucky Dog Recordings 03–04, in 2005[3] and the Leaving Songs album in 2006,[4] while violinist Dickon Hinchcliffe recorded the score to the 2005 Ira Sachs film Forty Shades of Blue.[5] The original six members of Tindersticks reconvened for one final time in September 2006 to play their second album Tindersticks in its entirety for the Don't Look Back series of concerts, after which three band members left the group.[1]
The remaining three members, Staples, guitarist Neil Fraser, and multi-instrumentalist David Boulter, felt reinvigorated by the concert and were keen to continue as Tindersticks.
Musical content
The Hungry Saw contains twelve tracks with a total running time of forty-six minutes. Critics noted that the music on the album was a continuation of the sound that Tindersticks had been exploring since 1999's soul-influenced Simple Pleasure, with PopMatters stating that "the revamped band sound(s) much like it has since 1999, when they gave up on grandiosity...the paired-down [sic] sound of The Hungry Saw is really nothing new."[6] Reviews for The Hungry Saw described the album as containing "foreboding, compelling soul",[7] and "blue-eyed/black-lung balladry with classic soul touches-- warm Hammond organ tones, tambourine-rattled rhythms, female back-up singers" that were "remarkably in tune with contemporary British pop music's neo-soul slant".[8]
Tiny Mix Tapes described the album as "a quiet, subtle record",[9] while the BBC noticed that the simple sound of the record resulted in a "stripped-bare, unfussy take on proceedings."[10] PopMatters remarked that "ornamental instrumentation is used quite sparingly",[6] while other critics noted the "smoky, solitary atmosphere and muted string arrangements"[8] and "restrained" brass accompaniment.[11] AllMusic said that Tindersticks "retain every last aspect of what made the band special (the inventive arrangements, the cinematic sweep of the songs, Stuart Staples' distinctive vocals)" and noted that "the arrangements...are given extra care", describing the horns as "superb" and remarking that "the strings sound rich and suitably dramatic on the heavy ballads and breezy on the light ones."[12] Dusted magazine also commended the arrangements, remarking that they carried "poignant depth, cinematic sweep and enviable perfectionism",[7] while Drowned in Sound described them as "immaculate".[13]
The pace of The Hungry Saw's music was described by Uncut as "funereal",[14] while Tiny Mix Tapes remarked upon the album's "low-down grooves" and "slow tempos". Magnet magazine stated that the band's "grand balladry is more stately and slow-boiled than ever",[15] and Dusted described the album's ballads as "fragile", saying that they "linger like half-forgotten dreams, deeply romantic yet always tinged with regret."[7] Pitchfork noted that "with their smoky, solitary atmosphere and muted string arrangements, "The Other Side of the World" and "All the Love" are textbook Tindersticks ballads".[8] "All the Love" was also described as "typically downbeat",[16] "lovely and harrowing"[12] and "uncommonly spare, even for a T-sticks ballad",[7] but it was mentioned that Suzanne Osbourne's backing vocals provided "a welcome touch of sunshine" to the track.[12]
Despite the "heavily maudlin"[10] sound of the album, "The Flicker of a Little Girl" was described as a "sprightly",[11] "breezy piano-rolled folk lullaby"[8] that "owes a debt to Lee Hazlewood."[6] The influence of Hazlewood on the record was also noted by other critics.[15][17][18] The "almost poppy"[12] song "Boobar Come Back to Me", which employs a call and response vocal pattern,[6][8] was described as "one of The Hungry Saw's undisputed highlights"[18] that "suggests another solitary Staples serenade about lost love, before slowly blossoming into a wonderful Spectorized finale."[8]
Artwork and release
The album features artwork by Stuart Staples and his artist wife, Suzanne Osborne. The front cover is a photograph of a carving of heart and a saw, and the back cover photograph shows the album track listing, also carved. Staples had used a screwdriver to make the carvings into the wall of his kitchen at home in Limousin, "to make it stay there. To properly mark our new start."[1]
Tindersticks announced The Hungry Saw in February 2008,
A second single, "Boobar Come Back to Me", was released on seven-inch in September 2008 on the band's own Lucky Dog label,[22] and The Hungry Saw received a North American release on 16 September 2008 by Constellation Records.[23] After performing at some music festivals in the summer of 2008, more European dates followed in November and December,[24] before Tindersticks undertook a tour of North America in February and March 2009.[25]
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork Media | 7.1/10.0[8] |
PopMatters | [6] |
Record Collector | [27] |
Spin | 6/10[28] |
Tiny Mix Tapes | [9] |
Uncut | [14] |
The Hungry Saw was met with some critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album received a metascore of 79, based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[26] In his review for AllMusic, Tim Sendra described the album as "classic Tindersticks", remarking that "the band retain every last aspect of what made [them] special", but also that the band managed to sound "rejuvenated and fresh at the same time".[12] Reviewing The Hungry Saw for The A.V. Club, Vadim Rizov noted that while the "strings and brass remain constant" and "Tindersticks remains a champion at feel-bad soul strings," the music on the album was "pared down" and represented "a new sound".[16] Drowned in Sound's Billy Hamilton offered the opinion that while "there's very little here that couldn't slot seamlessly into any of the group's output", The Hungry Saw was "something that can be unequivocally relied upon to produce the goods."[13] This consistency was also noticed by Campbell Stevenson of The Observer, who opined that "it's an eternal 3am in their songs, and they haven't messed with the losers' formula."[17]
Track listing
- "Introduction" (David Boulter) – 3:32
- "Yesterdays Tomorrows" (Boulter, Stuart Staples) – 3:49
- "The Flicker of a Little Girl" (Staples) – 3:30
- "Come Feel the Sun" (Boulter, Staples) – 2:28
- "E-Type" (Boulter) – 2:54
- "The Other Side of the World" (Staples) – 4:12
- "The Organist Entertains" (Boulter) – 2:33
- "The Hungry Saw" (Staples) – 3:46
- "Mother Dear" (Staples) – 4:19
- "Boobar Come Back to Me" (Staples) – 3:58
- "All the Love" (Staples) – 4:53
- "The Turns We Took" (Boulter, Staples) – 5:29
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[29]
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Chart performance
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
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Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[30] | 44 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] | 14 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] | 53 |
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[33] | 24 |
French Albums ( SNEP)[34]
|
61 |
UK Albums (OCC)[35] | 81 |
References
- ^ a b c d e Rogers, Jude (1 May 2008). "It was time to look each other in the eye". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ Schweiger, Daniel (17 January 2012). "Interview with Dickon Hinchliffe". Film Music Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Keefe, Michael (14 May 2008). "Tindersticks: The Hungry Saw". PopMatters. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d Dameron, Emerson (12 May 2008). "Dusted Reviews: Tindersticks — The Hungry Saw". Dusted magazine. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b c TMT, Julie (2008). "Tindersticks — The Hungry Saw | Music Review | Tiny Mix Tapes". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ a b Fox, Al (2008). "BBC — Music — Review of Tindersticks — The Hungry Saw". BBC Music. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ a b Bussolini, Brandon (15 October 2008). "Album Review: Tindersticks — The Hungry Saw | Prefix". Prefix magazine. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ AllMusic
- ^ a b c Hamilton, Billy (2 May 2008). "Tindersticks – The Hungry Saw". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b c Richards, Sam. "Tindersticks – The Hungry Saw". Uncut. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b Amorosi, A.D. (2008). "TINDERSTICKS: The Hungry Saw [Constellation]". Magnet magazine. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ a b c Rizov, Vadim (15 September 2008). "Tindersticks: The Hungry Saw". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b c Stevenson, Campbell (20 April 2008). "Tindersticks, The Hungry Saw". The Observer. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b Haworth, Keith (28 April 2008). "Culturedeluxe — Album Review — The Tindersticks — The Hungry Saw". culturedeluxe.com. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Tindersticks Announce London Show | News | Clash Magazine". Clash. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ Orange, James (27 February 2008). "Tindersticks wield The Hungry Saw on tour | RFB". rockfeedback.com. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "tindersticks — the hungry saw". tindersticks.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ "tindersticks — boobar come back to me". tindersticks.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "CST055 TINDERSTICKS: The Hungry Saw | Constellation Records". cstrecords.com. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ "tindersticks — concerts – played". tindersticks.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "Tindersticks - 2009 Tour Dates (Brooklyn Masonic Temple)". BrooklynVegan. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ Diamond Publishing. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
- ^ a b Zimmerman, Shannon (2 October 2008). "Tindersticks, The Hungry Saw". Spin. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ The Hungry Saw (CD booklet). Tindersticks. London: Beggars Banquet. 2008. BBQCD 269.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tindersticks – The Hungry Saw" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Tindersticks – The Hungry Saw" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Tindersticks – The Hungry Saw" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Tindersticks – The Hungry Saw". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Tindersticks – The Hungry Saw". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ "Tindersticks | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 10 November 2014.