Curtains

• Music

Amazon.co.uk This mysterious combo hasn't altered the formula much over four full studio albums. "Curtains" once again features the core sextet fleshing out Stuart Staples' sombre tone poems with beautiful layers of violin, keyboards, accordion, clarinet, brushed drums, and the occasional borrowed orchestral instrument. The surprises here are "Fast One", which features a pretty good imitation of the Velvets' noisy masterpiece, "I Heard Her Call My Name", and "Marriage Made In Heaven", a bonus track with guest vocals by Isabella Rossellini. As far as the basic Tindersticks recipe, it's not really an acquired taste; like sushi or snails, you either love it right of the bat, or it makes you want to puke. The biggest obstacles are the tempos (they're slower than the Queen Mum's pulse rate) and Staples' voice (critic Robert Wilonsky describes it as Nick Cave imitating Bryan Ferry on a 45 slowed down to 33). --Jim Derogatis Product description CD: Tindersticks,Curtains