•
Rating: Greg Dulli returns, former singer of the seminal Afghan Whigs, and this is his fourth studio album (including a cover EP) in six years of activity with the new project called The Twilight Singers, or "the singers of twilight."
The album underwent a particular gestation as it was recorded in various phases of time and place, in his own home in Los Angeles, but also in New York and New Orleans, as well as in Milan and Catania (due to the deep collaboration-friendship born between Dulli and Manuel Agnelli of Afterhours, described in the acknowledgments of the booklet... a brother).
As we delve into the listening of the platter, we discover the pleasant presence of illustrious collaborators such as Ani Di Franco who lends her voice on three tracks and Agnelli himself who contributed to the writing of "My Time (Has Come)" and "The Conversation". Moreover, the former is the English version and, in my opinion, significantly better in its rock-mantric progression than "La Vedova Bianca" featured in the latest work of Afterhours: I risk using a cliché, but in this case, truly, Americans know how to rock better than us Italians...
There are also other Afghan Whigs-memory gems like "Candy Cane Crawl" where former bassist John Curley plays with Dulli again and where our Dulli passionately and bitterly shouts "…who loves the blue sky?... who wears the dark look?... " with the class that distinguishes him in every interpretation...; or "Forty Dollars", a clear homage to the passion for Beatles melodies ("she loves you ...yeah yeah yeah...") reinterpreted in a modern key.
But the entire album is a chiaroscuro of broken feelings, uncertain loves, and good intentions perhaps not to be disregarded in Dulli's best tradition; the only sour note is, in my opinion, "The Conversation" made of a rather predictable and sappy melody, deserving the only thumbs down of the twelve songs present here.
Wanting to be picky, one might say that perhaps having a more stable line-up, with musicians capable of composing as well as performing, could add a final touch of variety to the already fascinating work of the musician from Cincinnati...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Bonnie Brae (04:46)
there was a rapture, so i can never see you anymore
nightmares believable, walking into sweet oblivion
i'm not saying it's easy, to feel it all nor not at all
when somebody say, lay down your gun
and when you lay it down, get ready to run
situation dire, it's gone away, it's not going away
since you're wasting time again, my friend
on bonnie brae, on bonnie brae
if she's your master, then get down on your knees and beg for more
i'm not saying it's easier, to live your life like her little whore
'cuz when you play with fire, take your fate, it's not going away
situation dire, on bonnie brae
on bonnie brae, on bonnie brae
the soul, the screen, the smoke in between
the rise, the fall, the thrill of...
the first, the last, the sins of the past
the burn, the fade, the skin that you've flayed
come see, the sun, kill everyone
but me, i'm free indubitably
05 Forty Dollars (03:51)
just bein' honest
Sucker swallow every time
Airplane come erase your mind
Seems there's been an accident
Telephone costs you 50 cents
To find out the retail
Gory detail
Nothing here for me
I get all of my kicks for free
Mangy dog without a collar
Buy me love for forty dollars
I got love for sale
Come on, get some before it gets stale again
I win the double for a lie
I get my money on the fly
We're throwin' down
So come on by, I'll be around
I've got 3, 6, 9,
'nother dollar makes a dime
Yeah all in double dutch again
Notify your next of kin
I say:
Mangy dog without a collar
Buy me love for forty dollars
I got love for sale
Come on, get some before it gets stale, now
Love don't mean a thing
But 2 A.M. and a telephone ring
Love is all you need
And all you need is love
Love is all you need
And all you need is love
We go underground
'Cause there's emptiness above
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah,
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm just bein'
I'm just bein'
I'm just bein'
I'm just bein'
Honest, honest, honest
Honest, honest, honest . . .
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah,
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah
06 Candy Cane Crawl (04:27)
parlez no, they won't mind, six to nine's a long, long time
but they won't miss it, they'll just forget it
that shit'll twist your little mind if you let it
so, slow down... lean in, call up that feeling
you get when you're stealing, that all too revealing side of you
who loves you true, but they'll just forget it, they'll just forget it
that shit'll twist your little mind if you let it
who love the blue sky, who wear the dark eye
so, slow down... lean in, call up that feeling
you get when you're dealing, you start to believe it
and there ain't nobody, who loves me, it's starting
to sink in, so lean in, and start to decieve it, that all too revealing
slow down... lean in, call up that feeling
you get when you're dealing, that all too deceiving side of you
who loves you true, but they'll just forget it, they'll just forget it
that shit'll twist your little mind if you let it
who love the blue sky, who wear the dark eye
so, slow down... lean in, call up that feeling
you get when you're reeling, that all too concealing side of you
who loves you true, but they'll just forget it, they'll just forget it
that shit'll twist your little mind if you let it
who love the blue sky, who wear the dark eye
who love the blue sky, who wear the dark eye
who love the blue sky, who wear the dark eye
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By theJOKE
In Powder Burns you feel the nocturnal atmosphere and you smell the asphalt of the road, you hear the noise of lovers hidden in buildings covering the shady traffic of dealers and criminals.
Powder Burns has become one of my most listened-to albums.
