Greg Dulli has never been a garage-type riffer. His brand of alternative always leaned more toward the "chugga-chugga" and not so much the "chuck-chuck-chuck". (What? That makes complete sense to me...) And when the Twilight Singers was formed, he didn't change much. He just added some layers to stylize the sound and make it more uptown.This album is the same TS vain. A collection of sonic landscapes that would rock out the martini crowd at your favorite corporate hotel bar.
A killer opening track starts, by way of "Last Night in Town" which builds from a piano ballad to a "Crime Scene"-like frenetic ride. His declaration of "being there" feels less romantic and more like an urban Tom Joad promising to be the inspiration in your fight.
"Waves" is the heaviest track on the record. A person better than me could remix this track to loop just the bass groans at the beginning of the song and make it the grooviest sex grind of the decade. As it stands though, the guitar drives the song into some kind of Smashing Pumpkins distortion piece. Awesome, if less fuckable.
In the middle comes a pair of clunkers, the first single "On The Corner" and "Gunshots" display a similar "Use Somebody" feel while still staying trapped in Dulli's low range disembodied voice. The "woah-oa" background's are there, but every lead syllable is drawn out until the words become boring.
Some famous pairings are listed in the notes but neither Joseph Arthur nor Ani DiFranco makes any attempt at adding anything unique to the recording. Each background vocal could have been anyone. I mean, I'm glad they got a paycheck and all...
More good than bad, here. Maybe not a dynamite step- but bigger than baby. (3.5 of 5 stars)
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