The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps (Album Review)
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Written by Ben Bland
Greg Dulli, whether you are aware of him or not, is undoubtedly one of the finest songwriters America has produced for many a decade. His work in The Afghan Whigs may often be overlooked by a music press that prefers to focus their early nineties American rock attention on the big grunge bands and little else, but the band’s last four albums were pioneering works of brilliance. After the Whigs amicably split, The Twilight Singers became Dulli’s main project and he has continued to pour his heart and soul into his work with much the same vigour as in his previous band.
'Dynamite Steps' shows that Dulli still takes this career-long ethic seriously. Everything on this album feels like it has been given some serious care and attention. However this does not mean that everything turns out quite for the best. For all of the excellence showcased on the likes of the title track and 'On the Corner' there are some fairly major missteps present. Opening track 'Last Night in Town' sees Dulli decide to express his emotions through the inadvisable use of his own high pitched vocals. For a man whose vocals are at their best somewhere around the gruff markers of regular collaborator Mark Lanegan or Nick Cave, this contributes to a couple of painful moments right at the start of the album. This is a real shame because the instrumentation of the track is an excellently judged burst of indie rock that should act as the kick-off to an exhilarating thrill ride of a record. The three track run of 'Waves' to 'On the Corner' really get things going, but the momentum is halted again by the somewhat lacking 'Gunshots' and rather uninteresting 'She Was Stolen'.
Perhaps the problem with this record is that it really does sound like so much thought has been put into it, perhaps a little too much. The finest moments here are the ones that sound the most immediate and natural. 'Get Lucky' and 'Never Seen No Devil' stand out because they feel as if, with the exception of some minor flourishes, they remain largely the same in structure as the day they were written. Returning to 'Last Night in Town' as a comparison, one finds a track that gives the impression that it was doing just fine until its creator decided that something extra was needed.
Dulli has proved on this album that he still has the ability to pen brilliant tunes, and prolifically, but what he has also proved is that he occasionally needs a bit of help and guidance from others. The Twilight Singers is Dulli’s band. He pulls all the strings. Occasionally things are bound to mess up a little. It is just a shame that, on 'Dynamite Steps' such messy moments lower what could have been one of the finest records of the year to what is essentially an also-ran, a story of ‘so near and yet so far’.
'Dynamite Steps' is out now on Sub Pop Records.
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Dulli has proved on this album that he still has the ability to pen brilliant tunes, and prolifically, but what he has also proved is that he occasionally needs a bit of help and guidance from others. The Twilight Singers is Dulli’s band. He pulls all the strings. Occasionally things are bound to mess up a little. It is just a shame that, on 'Dynamite Steps' such messy moments lower what could have been one of the finest records of the year to what is essentially an also-ran, a story of ‘so near and yet so far’. 
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