The Devastations
Coal

Of their self-titled debut album, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs spoke in enthusiastic terms; two years and a long stint in Berlin later, along comes "Coal". They could be Tindersticks but more fully rock, they might remind you of a Nick Cave who has stopped screaming and thrashing for a more complete song form, they might make you think of Cousteau but much better... Somewhat inexplicably, they reminded me of Morphine. Probably because of Conrad Standish's voice, maybe because they are a trio... but musically, they're quite distant from the jazz rock of Mark Sandman's group, even though they share a passion for night-time atmospheres and the dark corners of city streets.

"Take You Home" is a intense and bleeding rock track where the guitar seems to express better than any lyrics (the theme is a bit clichéd, but could it be any other way?) the pain and passion of a love affair that has much more to be forgiven for. Love for this trio strikes immediately with the catchy "Sex And Mayhem" that, cunningly, recalls the darker, soulful pop ballads of the aforementioned Scottish band Tindersticks. "The Night I Couldn't Stop Crying" is the most beautiful track, with a bass whose tense and incessant rhythm tries vainly to hold back the inevitable explosion of emotions referenced in the title. "A Man Of Fortune" sounds like an outtake from "Murder Ballads" with Bic Runga instead of PJ Harvey. The raw and gloomy atmosphere created by the intense "What's A Place Like That..." would not have been out of place in the soundtrack of "Sin City", but it is only the introduction to a crescendo that literally explodes in a sharp noise-laden guitar solo. The Australians close their record with the piano and accordion of the theatrical and Bowie-esque "Dance With Me" where the theme of abandonment elicits some unexpected yet all the more welcome chills.

Who knows if, like me, you will think of the noir atmospheres of the Treviso-based (but New Wave-free!) Valentina Dorme while listening to "Cormina" as the lyrics try to persuade a young lady not to (re)face the perils of adulthood too soon. A work that you will be hard-pressed to remove from your player and, believe it or not, almost without any drop in tone. Certainly, a mannered album but of absolute value, never banal and, who knows, perhaps superior to the next Tindersticks or Cave...