TINDERSTICKS' recent album "Waiting For The Moon" made a mockery of those who dared to suggest that their time was up as they pushed ahead into their second decade as a band. Sure, its' stylistic deviations might have been subtle, but to throw off a sound as seductive as theirs in a rash manner would be tantamount to ridicule and with this EP they again provoke and tease out new ways forward.
Even by the way the intro sweeps into the room, it's patently obvious "My Oblivion" reeks of class and within seconds you just know you're in the presence of vintage 'Sticks again. Guitars pick out patient melody lines, Mark Colwill plucks one of those hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck basslines and Dickon Hinchliffe's string arrangement and the super-femmy backing vocals conspire to shoot the whole thing through with a Bacharachian spirit. Damn it, even the way Stuart Staples wraps his velvety tonsils around lines like: "out on the balcony, she waits for me" sounds impossibly brilliant and infused with twilit mystery in this context.
Besides, the excellence is only just warming up. Second tune, "Now It's Over" couples a typically Tindersticksian title with a nimble, jazzy refrain, delicious strings and Dave Boulter sprinkling vibes like moondust all over the show. Gorgeous: and this is an out-take from the album sessions. Talk about strength in depth. Indeed, Stuart even gets away with swearing on this one, the sly ole rascal.
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Final track, an extended 14-minute instrumental take of "Waiting For The Moon"s closer "Running Wild" swoons in to grab the gold medal in no uncertain terms, though. Yeah, yeah, I know it's lengthy, but it passes way too quickly, taking in the iciest droplets of piano since "Cherry Blossoms", quietly overheating organ, echoey drums and dubwise bassline interface and the most gloriously seasick strings you could ever imagine. Deathly slow in a way only the Tindersticks can still master after all this time, it's their special brand of romantic ambience writ large and demonstrates magnificently just how spellbinding this band really are.
So there you have it: quite possibly their finest single since the killer double whammy that is/ was "No More Affairs" and "Travelling Light" and that's no mean feat considering what's gone down in the meantime. Tindersticks are one of those dark, alchemical forces out there we shouldn't question, just marvel at. "My Oblivion" again finds them on top of their game, so don't even think of asking how they do it.
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