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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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The Hungry Saw
by Tindersticks
The seventh album for the English trio is its first in more than five years.
| LABEL: |
Constellation |
| RELEASE DATE: |
16 September 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock, Indie |
NOTES: Original UK release 28 Apr 2008.
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...
91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Tindersticks remains a champion at feel-bad soul strings, but those who've found the group's previous work oppressive might want to try again: Staples' vocals haven't changed, but with the music as pared-down as one of their impressionistic soundtracks, it's a new sound.
90
All Music Guide
Tindersticks have never failed to satisfy anyone looking not only for sadness but also those looking for albums that make you feel and songs that will stick with you for a long time. The Hungry Saw is classic Tindersticks.
80
Under The Radar
Tindersticks have proven themselves to be a rare exception to what feels like a general rule of let-down albums by reunited bands. [Fall 2008, p.84]
80
Hartford Courant
Few songwriters are capable of making misery sound so elegant, and even desirable.
80
Boston Globe
The years away may have recharged Staples's batteries, but the music itself sounds much the same, which is a good thing.
80
NOW Magazine
The Hungry Saw may make Leonard Cohen’s stuff sound positively giddy, but it’s a positive turn for the Tindersticks.
80
Blender
THe British balladeers have returned after a long layoff as elegantly miserable as ever. [Oct 2008, p.83]
80
Dusted Magazine
England’s most defiantly rococo pop group can make a richly detailed record without really trying.
80
Q Magazine
It may sound less dense, but The Hungry Saw is as dark, mysterious and seductive as ever. [May 2008, p.141]
80
Tiny Mix Tapes
It’s not an incredibly remarkable record, but when a band is this consistent for this long, it’s hard to fault it.
75
Prefix Magazine
Ultimately, it comes down to the vagaries of taste, but measured against their previous output and current contenders, The Hungry Saw is a sleeper of a bar-chapped, morosely drunk record.
71
Pitchfork
The Hungry Saw's temperate approach feels like the work of a band who are grateful for a new lease on life, but not sure exactly what to do with it, proffering brief experiments that amount to little more than amusing curios (the self-explanatory "The Organist Entertains") or instrumentals that sound like guide tracks waiting for a vocal supplement (the tremoloed psychedelic samba of "E Type").
70
PopMatters
The band were making good music before they split, and the revamped lineup have picked up right where the previous incarnation left off.
70
Dot Music
What will draw fans old and new to this record, however, is the melancholia of Tindersticks frontman Stuart Staples' vocals, which become especially poignant on the forlorn 'Other Side Of The World.'
70
Drowned In Sound
The one slight that could be pinned on the The Hungry Saw is that there’s very little here that couldn’t slot seamlessly into any of the group’s output over the last 16 years.
70
Magnet
Led by mercurial crooner Stuart Staples, the current lineup’s grand balladry is more stately and slow-boiled than ever.
60
Observer Music Monthly
There's no stand-out to match 'Tiny Tears' or 'Marbles' but Stuart Staples's crumpled voice and the distinctively intricate arrangements summon Lee Hazlewood's tear-flecked, bruised spirit.
60
Uncut
Tindersticks have returned refreshed, but some of the old dissolute glamour is gone.
60
Spin
Powered by rattling drums, simmering organ, and Stuart Staples' resonant baritone, the first half of Tindersticks' latest is a can't-miss proposition....Too bad the disc's second half descends into a morass of half-finished, melancholic curios that mostly go nowhere lowly.
The average user rating for this album is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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