Just before the end of the year 2020, a mere 12 months, after the release of their celebrated record
No Treasure But Hope
,
Tindersticks
surprised everyone with mentioning a new album to be released in 2021.
Stuart Staples was already nurturing seeds for a different kind o
f Tindersticks
album before lockdown halted their tour in early 2020. If 2019's
No Treasure But Hope
saw the band rediscovering themselves as a unit, the follow-up reconfigures that unit so that everything familiar about
Tindersticks
sounds fresh again.
Distractions
is an album of subtle realignments and connections from a restless, intuitive band: rich in texture and atmosphere, it lives between its open spaces and details, always finding new ways to connect with a song. If it's an album that resists easy summation, at least one thing is clear: though it isn't untouched by the lockdown,
Distractions
is not ‘a lockdown album'. As Staples says, "I think the confinement provided an opportunity for something that was already happening. It is definitely a part of the album, but not a reaction to it."
Side A
1. Man alone (can't stop the fadin') (11:07)
2. I imagine you (05:36)
3. A man needs a maid (04:42)
Side B
4. Lady with the braid (06:59)
5. You'll have to scream louder (05:13)
6. Tue-moi (03:33)
7. The bough bends (09:35)