Like Robert Pollard is Guided By Voices and Bill Callahan is Smog, Eric Bachmann is Crooked Fingers. When I speak of Crooked Fingers, however, I speak of the whole band that he summoned to perform on this spectacular album. A spectacular album that, like a true friend in a time of sorrow, is truthful and promising. At times, a brooding darkness shadows the music, but there is a beauty in all this darkness and Crooked Fingers exposes it wonderfully. (When the sun comes out in ‘you can never leave’, its intention is only to blind us.)

’big darkness’ starts off like a dream and tells of a town where, in fact, the dreams have melted away. The song’s slightly upbeat feel is deceiving as the lyrics at first tell of a town where even the vultures have moved on. I crank this song and listen to Eric tell of the hero that’s coming to blow away the sun. I can feel the glow coming from behind the wall of guitar, cello, and mandolin. The town (in my mind) is perhaps the (seemingly sunny) landscape of today’s pop music and the hero (of course): Eric Bachmann. ‘dont say a word’ is subtler, but I can still hear promise in the dark hallways. I can only nod in agreement after being hit with Bachmann’s assessment:
“there’s some awful things to each other that we can do - - - when people think that something good can from them, then people, well, they are just fools.”

One of the greater gifts on this album is the pairing of ‘bad man coming’ and ‘you threw a spark’. ‘bad man coming’ is simple and bleak. Bachmann’s voice crackles over minimal guitar playing. ‘you threw a spark’ follows with a slightly brighter approach. Veteran trumpeters Randy Anderson and Roger Ruzow liven up the mood among Crooked Fingers-regular Andrej Curty on violins.

“I pull you up and you push me down.”
At times this album reflects life being pulled up and then being pushed back down. (At other times, the song’s character never goes in either direction.) If the first verse of “boy with (100) hands” doesn’t pull you down into the darkness, then the bleeding horns that subtly enter after the first verse will do it for sure. Eric’s affecting vocals and poignant strokes of his guitar is what makes this song so dark.

’sweet marie’ implements trumpets once more, but this time around they sway along mischievously (if not in a drunken manner that sounds most playful and celebrates Crooked Fingers’ sinister tendency). (You might even say its Neil Diamond singing Tom Waits in grandiose fashion.) On ‘angelina’, his Diamondesque vocals are present again, but with a sincerity that assures her guilty conscious that she has done no wrong. And he wishes Cary not to cry in ‘disappear’ as he rides off into the sunset. He sums it up perfectly: there’s beauty in an ugly thing - redemption in demise.

‘carrion doves’ is the perfect closer, complete with classical arrangements and a weepy country twang. Like the last drop of the last beer from the fridge, I find myself wanting more after the last note from the last song is played. Sometimes, loneliness doesn’t want to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Through Red Devil Dawn, I see many times the contrast between light and dark, but I always find myself hanging out in its comforting shadows.

What sets this album apart from Crooked Fingers’ first two albums is the added production (horns, keyboards). The added instrumentation most often emphasizes Eric Bachmann’s vocal delivery which, as always, is confident in stating loneliness and despair. More than on the 2000 self-titled debut album or the 2001 sophomore album Bring on the Snakes, Eric Bachmann brings an autobiographical tone not unlike Beck’s Sea Change. This makes Red Devil Dawn the best Crooked Fingers release yet.

This review is part of the New Music Write-Off hosted by jennjoy and officer.

As a celebration of the new music being introduced in 2003, each one of us are featuring a review of music that was released this past month.




Please check out the other epinionators that are participating:

(Truly a talented group of writers.)


aerocat
atchesonate
cletta1201
emptywishes
fmhypo
gmann6900
jennjoy - (Host)
midoyle
officer - (Host)
psychovant
sleestakk
speeddemon531
superbboy
thevoid99
unprofound
vanwarp



Have you heard Crooked Fingers’ self-titled debut album yet? If you liked that, then you’ll definitely like this release. Here’s the play list:

Red Devil Dawn. by Crooked Fingers.

Released January 2003 - Merge Records

01. big darkness
02. dont say a word
03. you can never leave
04. bad man coming
05. you threw a spark
06. boy with (100) hands
07. sweet marie
08. angelina
09. disappear
10. carrion doves


Recommended: Yes