The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps Album Review

For somewhere near twenty years now, Greg Dulli has been the go-to guy for crafting music to fill those dark corners and to soundtrack those creepy moments where there seems to be someone behind you. Whether it is with the distorted, cacophonous rock wailing of The Afghan Whigs, the dark blues of his Mark Lanegan collaboration The Gutter Twins, or the expansive and orchestrated Twilight Singers, Dulli is a master of all things 'noir'. Dynamite Steps is not so much a reinvention of The Twilight Singers sound, but further exploration. Yes, it is going to get dark.

The album begins with the hypnotic piano refrain of Last Night In Town, which builds and builds with layers of synths being added underneath Dulli's trademark howl, before finally exploding and driving forward under a wailing wah-guitar. Following this is the acoustic led Be Invited, which features guest vocals from Mark Lanegan, sounding his gravelly, whisky soaked best. Hearing Mark Lanegan's voice is a highlight on any record he is involved with. If it were up to me, he would sing in every band in the world. Previous single On The Corner is also seemingly Twilight Singers by numbers, with Dulli offering up some trademark, raw lyrics such as the delightful couplet 'spread your legs, insert your alibi'; the song gives way to a couple of bars which, dare I say it, sound almost like they are in a major key. Never Seen No Devil Dulli by numbers; by any other artist it would be a simple folk-y plod through, but Greg Dulli and his Twilight Singers have arranged it in such a way that it becomes expansive and haunting, with banjos trading lines with a string section.

This is an album full of highlights. Every song has something worth a listen. Be it the driving, persistent drums of Gunshots, or the brilliantly layered guitar work of Blackbird and the Fox. Even the fairly simple, standard ballad She Was Stolen, is made into a stunning piece of music, where in any lesser artists hands, such a simple song cold have fallen by the wayside. Such is the attention to detail on this record; every dark recess is filled with elaborate orchestration and instrumentation. It is, at times, stunning.

Put simply, for Dulli fans, Dynamite Steps is worth every minute of the five years it has taken to follow up the last Twilight Singers record. It is a dark, dirty night time record, and a worthy addition to his vast canon of work. With Greg Dulli, you always know roughly what you are going to get, and on Dynamite Steps, you get it in spades.

Ben Walton