Tindersticks - Announce new record; download album track
12 November 09
4AD release their first album of 2010 on January 25th with the label debut from Tindersticks, a band who should need no introduction.
After a five-year hiatus, Tindersticks returned in 2008 with a changed line-up, a new album (The Hungry Saw) and crucially, fully recharged and regenerated – “Tindersticks have proven themselves to be a rare exception to what feels like a general rule of let-down albums by reunited bands.” Under The Radar
The band, as they describe further down in their own words, have since become a more productive force with downtime between these records being non-existent; “From nervous beginnings, a new unity and sense of direction grew. Where once our touring days were spent hanging around, killing time, now we found ourselves cobbling together acoustic rehearsals for new ideas in dressing rooms and venue corridors. There was a growing need to make something new and we quickly started working in our studio in France.”
Falling Down A Mountain, their eighth long-player, came together in two studios (Le Chien Chanceux in France and ICP in Belgium) over three summer months in 2009. Very much a group effort, aided by the new ideas of fresh additions Earl Harvin and David Kitt and a rare guest vocal appearance by Mary Margaret O’Hara, it shows a colourful side to Tindersticks: “With hindsight, The Hungry Saw now seems like an album made within the confines of what we knew; Falling Down A Mountain sees those boundaries become irrelevant.”
The band will be back out touring in the New Year and will be announcing dates shortly. They have also finished their fifth soundtrack for a film, White Material, due also for release next year.
Announced on Pitchfork earlier today you can download a track from the record, 'Black Smoke' from 4AD.com.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TINDERSTICKS - 'BLACK SMOKE'
The tracklisting for the record runs as follows:
'Falling Down a Mountain'
'Keep You Beautiful'
'Harmony Around My Table'
'Peanuts'
'She Rode Me Down'
'Hubbards Hills'
'Black Smoke'
'No Place So Alone'
'Factory Girls'
'Piano Music'
Here is a message from the band:
"Our last album, The Hungry Saw, was our first in five years. We didn’t really know what to expect on its release; we had just six concerts booked, and everyone was a little nervous…
That was April 2008. The success of those concerts, including the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Folies Bergere in Paris, took us all by surprise and led to seventy more shows in Europe and the US - ending with a beautiful summer’s evening headlining The Serpentine Sessions in Hyde Park in July of 2010.
In our ‘downtime’, we have scored 2 film soundtracks for Claire Denis: the much loved and critically acclaimed 35 Shots Of Rum and, due for release in the new year, White Material, which stars Isabelle Huppert. Somewhere during that time, we were also commissioned to create the music for the Louis Vuitton summer collection in Paris.
From those nervous beginnings a new unity and sense of direction grew. Where once our touring days were spent hanging around, killing time, now we found ourselves cobbling together acoustic rehearsals for new ideas in dressing rooms and venue corridors. There was a growing need to explore and we quickly started working in the studio.
Very soon this work became Falling Down A Mountain, our eighth studio album. Recorded at the band’s own Le Chien Chanceux studio in rural France and at ICP in Brussels between May and July 2009 and mixed at Le Chien’ in September and October.
With hindsight, The Hungry Saw now seems like an album made within the confines of what we knew; in making Falling Down A Mountain those boundaries became irrelevant.
The title track was borne out of a collection of moments; a dreamed idea recorded into a mobile phone in the night evolving into a spontaneous recording with the band, Terry Edwards’ trumpet (we didn’t play him the song, just gave him some clues, ran the tape and he played into the silence), singing with David Kitt and his great overdubbed guitar… All, more or less, made in one or two takes. Sometimes you just get lucky.
From the dream of building Le Chien’ three years ago, this is the first recording that gets close to what we have been looking for and gives all the effort some meaning.
The album ran on from there in many different directions, but always with a shared feeling between all the musicians and a sense of discovery towards the ideas. Highlights were many and varied: singing a duet with Mary Margaret O’Hara; new additions to the group in the shape of Earl Harvin (drums and vocals) and David Kitt (guitar and vocals) brought with them new colours to the music, and their voices combining with bassist Dan McKinna’s realised a long dreamt of “vocal section” within the band. In addition, Jo Fraser and Andy Nice, who have played a big part in our soundtrack work, provided some great flute and cello moments.
We hope you enjoy."