Review Round-Up
with Bryan Menegus
The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps
Another respectable outing by Greg Dulli: if The Afghan Whigs were about venom, then The Twilight Singers encapsulate sleaze. Although this setting allows Dulli to be a bit more dynamic with his voice, the musicality suffers from a tiredness and an overall lack of motion. Perhaps it’s a consequence of the inevitable comparison to his work with the Whigs, but Dynamite Steps, although admittedly well-crafted, just doesn’t have the staying power of, say, Congregation. Nor is Dynamite Steps recommended for listening before 1am: it summarizes and soundtracks the worst night in the dirtiest bar, another of Dulli’s too-low-to-be-believed confessionals.
RIYL: Nick Cave, The Gutter Twins
Grrr. There’s plenty of motion and emotion here, and some definite movement from really down and dirty to looking up a bit. I love these guys, so not an objective review, but I’ve been playing it non stop since I got it and I haven’t gotten tired of it and I keep hearing new things in it. Sure the AW were maybe more powerful but that was a long time ago and who wants to keep reliving one’s ‘back in the day’ days? I don’t and I don’t want the musicians I respond to most to do that either. So does this album replace Gentleman, Black Love and 1965 in my heart? No, but there’s plenty of room in my heart for Dulli’s current offering, too. Dynamite (pun intended) live even on Kimmel and Youtube, too.
