Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best of 2009
Best of 2008
Best of 2007
Best of 2006
Best of 2005
Best of 2004
Best of 2003
Best of 2002
Best of 2001
Best of 2000
Best of the Decade
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
75
2562
54
30 Seconds to Mars
62
50 Cent
71
AC/DC
70
The Album Leaf
52
Kris Allen
68
Tori Amos
66
Animal Collective
84
Animal Collective
77
Annie
57
Apse
63
Asobi Seksu
59
Bad Lieutenant
83
Julianna Barwick
82
Beach House
72
Beak>
72
Bibio
65
Justin Bieber
76
Biffy Clyro
74
Blakroc
75
Mary J. Blige
78
Blockhead
52
Bon Jovi
54
Susan Boyle
57
The Bravery
39
Chris Brown
64
V.V. Brown
70
Basia Bulat
79
Chew Lips
74
Citay
65
Clipse
66
Cold War Kids
75
The Cribs
58
Dashboard Confessional
81
Dave Rawlings Machine
70
Delphic
78
The Doors
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
73
Edan
59
Editors
69
Eels
80
Felt
74
First Aid Kit
69
Flyleaf
83
Four Tet
82
Ben Frost
82
Fucked Up
83
Charlotte Gainsbourg
63
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
68
Githead
65
Joe Goddard
58
Good Shoes
72
Gucci Mane
75
Holopaw
82
Jesca Hoop
79
Hot Chip
72
The Hot Rats
88
Ray Wylie Hubbard
54
Hurricane Chris
66
Allison Iraheta
59
Jay Sean
82
Freedy Johnston
57
Nick Jonas And The Administration
73
Norah Jones
49
Juvenile
58
Ke$ha
62
R. Kelly
66
Alicia Keys
68
Kid Sister
81
King Midas Sound
63
Lady Antebellum
76
Lady GaGa
71
Adam Lambert
78
Lawrence Arabia
61
Leona Lewis
74
Lightspeed Champion
36
Lil Wayne
82
Lindstrom & Christabelle
77
Lissie
78
Los Campesinos!
70
Lostprophets
73
Magnetic Fields
72
Massive Attack
64
John Mayer
71
Paul McCartney
58
Katherine McPhee
86
Memory Tapes
72
Midlake
88
Motion City Soundtrack
63
Mr. Hudson
53
Mudvayne
75
Oh No Ono
70
OK Go
72
Ola Podrida
61
OneRepublic
80
Owen Pallett
80
Pantha du Prince
90
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
80
Phantogram
60
Pit Er Pat
63
Priestess
70
Radian
79
Corinne Bailey Rae
54
Rakim
79
Real Estate
77
Retribution Gospel Choir
76
Rihanna
64
Rjd2
65
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
77
Sade
77
Gil Scott-Heron
72
Shakira
82
Shining
61
Snoop Dogg
62
Snow Patrol
71
The Soft Pack
80
Spoon
64
Ringo Starr
59
Stereophonics
76
Angie Stone
79
Surfer Blood
74
Switchfoot
75
Them Crooked Vultures
74
Robin Thicke
50
Timbaland
79
tUnE-YaRDs
80
Vampire Weekend
79
Laura Veirs
79
Tom Waits
78
Wale
65
The Watson Twins
66
Kanye West
76
The Whitefield Brothers
64
Robbie Williams
80
Yeasayer
62
Young Money
75
Neil Young
61
Rob Zombie
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Red Devil Dawn
Universal acclaim
Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Merge
Release Date: 21 January 2003
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
Crooked Fingers is a side project for Archers of Loaf frontman Eric Bachmann. This third album follows in the dark, drunken-blues/Americana tradition of the first two, which drew Bachmann comparisons to Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, among others.
Also By This Artist: Dignity And Shame Forfeit/Fortune
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Eric Bachmann: To The Races
Also On The Web: CF @ Merge Records
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The Onion (A.V. Club)
What sets Red Devil Dawn apart, though, is a sense of personalized tragedy that Bachmann hasn't addressed much before.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Red Devil Dawn is a welcome masterpiece of emotional subtleties -- the great record that Crooked Fingers missed the mark on with 2001's drunken, bluesy and somewhat disappointing Bring On the Snakes.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
On Red Devil Dawn, Crooked Fingers have made huge strides towards becoming one of the most fascinating bands in some time.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
Bachmann’s transition from indie curmudgeon to singer-songwriter is complete: his arrangements are now horn- and string-fattened creations of grand sophistication; his songs now contain hope and broken spirit simultaneously; but the most significant growth displayed on Red Devil Dawn, and the reason this album is Bachmann’s finest moment since his Barry Black days, is that you can now see Eric Bachmann as the subject of most of his songs.
Read Full Review >Dusted Magazine
The lyrics on Red Devil Dawn are some of his most poetic to date.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
Fans will eat up this new record, as the songwriting rivals, and often exceeds, the best of Crooked Fingers' prior curious work.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Red Devil Dawn reveals the ex-Archers Of Loaf leader gaining momentum with his latest incarnation, which bodes quite well for future releases.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
Red Devil Dawn is as intricate and bewitching as the work of Tom Waits or the Tindersticks.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
Red Devil Dawn is by far the most consistent Crooked Fingers album, and in many respects, probably the best in general.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
It's not an album that will change your life, but it could alter the way you look at bits of it. [Feb 2003, p.64]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Kay M gave it a 5:
The vocal aren't the gritty, raw gems that are being compared to the superlative genre of Waits, Cash, or other troubadours. Eric B's voice is more like leftover Bryan Adams with a strong hint of Martin Zeller (ala Gear Daddies)... which ruins it for me. Maybe not for you. There are equally as many dopey lines as there are great ones as well. But the musicianship is superb. Top notch actually.
dan m gave it a 10:
a lyrical masterpiece. the melodies will haunt you. bachmann's tales of drunkenness and redemption are unforgettable.
