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Dynamite Steps
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Dynamite Steps Image
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

  • Summary: Five years after the last release, Dynamite Steps brings Greg Dulli back to the Twilight Singers.
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Be Invited
Once the feeling comes You play the part And break their heart Until you feel alive Scratch through the ceiling you love To have your fun Behind the... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Sputnikmusic
    Apr 27, 2011
    80
    Both for Dulli as an artist, and me as a fan, the borders may be wider but the thrill remains the same - this is dark, cynical, sexy, and genuinely moving with it, and that's a combination potent enough to make this an outside bet for rock album of the year.
  2. Delusions of Adequacy
    Feb 15, 2011
    80
    The album sways and moves in ways we haven't seen since 1998′s 1965. Dynamite Steps sits comfortably in his canon, and that is perhaps the perfect compliment.
  3. Filter
    Mar 14, 2011
    76
    Dulli is the king of building to a pinnacled, string-filled moment and he nails it here. The burning edifice of the heart rarely sounds so transcendent.
  4. Drowned In Sound
    Feb 15, 2011
    70
    As a collection of songs and sentiments there is a nagging sense that Dulli is revisiting old haunts. Yet it feels reassuring, as Dynamite Steps continues the resurgent course he's been treading in recent years.
  5. Consequence
    Feb 15, 2011
    70
    Dynamite Steps, appropriately enough, is an album of powder kegs and bright flashes -- moments that boldly spark, then quickly burn out.
  6. AllMusic
    Feb 15, 2011
    70
    Dulli thrives on atmosphere, and while his inability to write the kind of sharp hooks or memorable choruses that have elevated other semi-dystopian malcontents into the relative mainstream is evident throughout the album, that sense of place makes Dynamite Steps feel less like a collection of songs and more like a long, dangerous, and unpredictable night on the town.
  7. Uncut
    Feb 25, 2011
    60
    With Lanegan, Nick McCabe and Ani DeFranco along for the ride, Dulli's roiling, captivatingly haunted songs detonate with incandescent splendor. [Mar 2011, p.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. letter27
    Mar 21, 2011
    7
    The Twilight Singers "Dynamite Steps" is not explosive but it still burns stronger than most albums these days. It is difficult to approachThe Twilight Singers "Dynamite Steps" is not explosive but it still burns stronger than most albums these days. It is difficult to approach the Twilight Singers latest album without high expectations after the 2006 release of Powder Burns (possibly the band's best album). After four years and some change, the new album is not the chronicles of an epic journey but a hodgepodge of Afghan Whigs, Gutter Twins and early TW. There are really some amazing moments on the album. The contrast between an acoustic guitar and full orchestra of sound in "The Beginning of the End," for instance. "On the Corner" keeps your toes tapping through the middle of the album. "Gunshots" is a strong song and "Blackbird and the Fox" beckons back to the Twilight Singers debut album more than a decade ago. But don't approach Dynamite Steps with the expectations of a Powder Burns part II. There is just something lacking. The formula is there, the strong moments are there, but it is not the best that Dulli has to offer. The album ends with the title track, which follows the Dulli formula that dates back to 1996's Black Love album -- with the close of "Faded." The song has beauty but does not deliver the Twilight Singers usual power.… Collapse

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