The band has a cult following in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, although the eclectic and unique sound Tindersticks possesses never made significant inroads in the mainstream.
Personnel
* Stuart Ashton Staples, born 14 November 1965 - Lead voice, guitar, melodica
* Dickon James Hinchliffe, born 9 July 1967 - violin, guitar, voice, piano, string and brass arrangements
* Neil Timothy Fraser, - born 22 November 1962 - lead guitar, vibraphone
* David Leonard Boulter, born 27 February 1965 - keyboards, percussion
* Alasdair Robert De Villeneuve Macaulay, born 2 August 1965 - drums, percussion, trumpet
* Mark Andrew Colwill, born 12 May 1960 - bass guitar
The band formed in late 1991, Staples, Boulter, Frazer, Macauley and Hinchcliffe having previously been members of Asphalt Ribbons. The final band line-up for the "old horse" mini-LP (1991) was: Stuart Staples (vocals) Dave Boulter (organ & accordion) Neil Fraser (guitar) Dickon Hinchliffe (Guitar & strings) Al Macauley (percussion & drums) John Thompson (bass). Mark Colwill was recruited when John Thompson left the Asphalt Ribbons, but it is not sure if he played any gigs under the Asphalt Ribbons name. Then they changed their name to Tindersticks after Stuart A. Staples discovered a box of German matches on a Greek beach.
Tindersticks started recording demo tapes in 1992, and were signed by Tippy Toe Records who released their first single, "Patchwork".
Their self-titled first and second albums established their signature sound and received widespread critical acclaim. Their live performances, often augmented by large string sections and even, on occasion, a full orchestra, were rapturously received. (The live album Bloomsbury Theatre 12.3.95 is a recording of one such concert.) By the time of the third album, Curtains, however, it was clear that a change of direction was called for. There was a certain ennui to the songs, and the lengthy "Ballad of Tindersticks" was a weary swipe at the pressures of being a touring band.
The fourth album, Simple Pleasure, lived up to its title with a series of snappy, direct songs influenced by soul music. The female backing vocals on several tracks, and the respectful cover of Odyssey's "If You're Looking For A Way Out", signalled the band's wish to move towards lighter, more soulful material. However, the inner sleeve's documentation of the number of takes each track went through was evidence that the band continued to adopt a painstaking approach to recording.
The fifth album, Can Our Love, continued the band's soulful direction, in particular evidence on the tender "Sweet Release" and in the nod to the Chi-Lites in the title of "Chilitetime".
The sixth and most recent album, Waiting For The Moon, was more stripped down and introspective in nature, particularly on the harrowing "4.48 Psychosis" (based on the play of the same name by the British playwright Sarah Kane) and "Sometimes It Hurts". Only the bouncy "Just A Dog" lightened the otherwise melancholy mood of the album.
In 2005 Staples embarked on a solo career and there was resultant speculation that the band had split. Staples has so far produced two solo albums, Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04 and Leaving Songs. The title of the second album, and Staples' notes on it, indicate that Tindersticks may indeed be at an end: "These are songs written on the verge of leaving the things I loved and stepping into a new unknown life, both musically and personally. I was always aware that these songs were the end of something, a kind of closing a circle of a way of writing that I started so long ago and I knew I had to move on from."
In September 2006, the band played a one-off concert at London's Barbican Centre, performing their second album in full with a nine-member string section and two brass players, including former collaborator Terry Edwards on trumpet. This concert brought the band's members back together. A new recording process in 2007 resulted in a new album, The Hungry Saw, which was released on April 28th 2008.
In the meantime, in July 2007, Island Records had released The BBC Sessions, a double CD compilation of the band's sessions for BBC radio programmes. Also in 2007, a stripped-down line-up of three of the original band, Staples, Boulter and Fraser, spent time writing and recording in a newly-equipped studio in Limousin, France. They were joined by Thomas Belhom on drums and Dan McKinna on bass, with Ian Caple engineering. The resulting album, The Hungry Saw, was released on Beggars Banquet in April 2008. Tindersticks played a number of other European dates during the summer festival season and also announced a winter 2008 European tour.
In 2010, the eighth album Falling Down a Mountain was released on 4AD / Constellation Records with a changed band line-up, with Earl Harvin replacing Belhom on drums and David Kitt, a solo artist in his own right, joining the band on guitar and vocals.
The group's ninth album The Something Rain was released in February 2012.
As well as their nine studio albums, the band has produced the soundtracks for four films by the French director Claire Denis: Nenette et Boni,Trouble Every Day, 35 Rhums and White Material
They recorded a cover of the Four Tops song, "What Is A Man", for the theme to the British TV series The Sins.
The Tindersticks song Tiny Tears was featured prominently in the Series 1 episode "Isabella" of HBO's The Sopranos. Additionally, a version of "Running Wild" was played during the ending credits of the penultimate episode of the series, "The Blue Comet". In the Season One Finale of Brotherhood, "El Diablo En El Ojo" is used twice.
* Tindersticks (aka First Album) (This Way Up, 1993)
* Tindersticks (aka Second Album) (This Way Up, 1995)
* Curtains (This Way Up, 1997)
* Simple Pleasure (Island, 1999)
* Can Our Love... (Beggar's Banquet, 2001)
* Waiting for the Moon (Beggar's Banquet, 2003)
* BBC Sessions (2007)
On 17th October 2014, Tindersticks released the commissioned soundscapes from the In Flanders Fields WW1 museum in Ypres, Belgium.
See the band's site at www.tindersticks.co.uk.
My Oblivion
Tindersticks Lyrics
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It's to her I run
Out on the balcony,
She waits for me
Out on the boundary,
She smiles
She's my oblivion,
The edges of our love,
Are in the stars.
And on the balcony,
She waits for me.
Out on the boundary,
She smiles.
Make this alive
Good days are back
Open your eyes when it falls
Come back to the air
I can't tell you what you already know
I can't make you feel what you already feel
I can't show you what's in front of you
I can't heal those scars
She's my oblivion
And my skin burns
Her hands all over me
She whispers:
The edges of our love, are in the stars"
Good days are alive
Good days are back
Open your eyes when it falls
Come back to the air
So look down to the street below
Don't look up to the stars above
You look around
See what's in front of you
Don't look down, don't look down
Can you see the light?
It shines onto us tonight
Can you see the light?
It's all around you
The song "My Oblivion" by Tindersticks is a beautiful and melancholic ballad about a person's reassuring escape to their lover. The song opens with the lyrics "She's my oblivion, It's to her I run," signifying the importance of the person to the singer. The person is the singer's solace during tough times; they wait for the singer out on the balcony, where she smiles, and it brings him an immense sense of peace.
The song continually builds on the theme of the edges of their love being in the stars. This phrase is repeated a couple of times in the song, and it signifies the depth and vastness of their love. The singer asks for reassurance by questioning how to turn, which underlines his vulnerability in this relationship. The person makes everything brighter, and the "good days are back" when he is around her.
The song's chorus provides a sense of the light shining down and around the singer, signifying hope and comfort. The song's beauty lies in the lyrical way the singer puts his complex feelings into words. It's a beautiful and compelling expression of the intensity with which one can love another person.
Line by Line Meaning
She's my oblivion,
She is the one that I escape to, the one who erases all my worries
It's to her I run
I seek her whenever I am troubled or need someone to fall back on
Out on the balcony,
On the open balcony, in sight of the stars,
She waits for me
She longs to see me, and welcomes me when I come to her
Out on the boundary,
On the border between uncertainty and certainty,
She smiles.
She exudes a knowing optimism that makes everything better.
Which way to turn?
I am lost and unsure of which direction to take
The edges of our love,
Love is that space between two places outside of what is understood or explainable
Are in the stars.
It is the intangible essence that connects us to the universe
Make this alive
Reinvigorate this relationship
Good days are back
Our future prospects are better than they seemed
Open your eyes when it falls
Pay attention to the world around you when life gets difficult
Come back to the air
Breathe deeply and take comfort in life's simplicities
I can't tell you what you already know
I cannot impart knowledge to someone already familiar with it
I can't make you feel what you already feel
I cannot change someone's emotions simply by words
I can't show you what's in front of you
I cannot make someone pay attention to what is plainly visible
I can't heal those scars
I cannot undo the damage that has been done in the past
And my skin burns
I am overpowered by the feeling of being with my love
Her hands all over me
Her touch soothes me and reminds me of her presence
She whispers:
Softly, she speaks closely to me
So look down to the street below
Take note of the here-and-now instead of losing oneself in ethereal hopes
Don't look up to the stars above
Do not let lofty goals cloud what is within reach
You look around
Take a full accounting of the environment and those around you
See what's in front of you
Stay centered and grounded in reality
Don't look down, don't look down
Do not despair, and do not give up hope
Can you see the light?
Are you aware of the good that is happening in your life?
It shines onto us tonight
The positive energy of the world is flowing to and through us
It's all around you
The goodness that abounds in the world is available for you to receive
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALISTAIR MACAULEY, DAVID BOULTER, DICKON JAMES HINCHLIFFE, MARK ANTHONY STEPHEN COLWILL, NEIL TIMOTHY FRASER, STUART ASHTON STAPLES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind