Tindersticks are an alternative band from Nottingham, England. Their sound … Read Full Bio ↴Tindersticks are an alternative band from Nottingham, England. Their sound is characterized by a synthesis of orchestral backing, lounge jazz, and soul; the lush orchestrations of multi-instrumentalist Dickon Hinchliffe and the smoky baritone of lead vocalist Stuart A. Staples are the band's hallmarks. Tindersticks have employed electric guitars, as most rock bands have done, but augment their instrumentation with a wide array of instruments: Rhodes piano, glockenspiel, vibraphone, violin, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, bassoon, Hammond organ, and many more are prominently utilized in the music of Tindersticks.

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.

Patchwork
Tindersticks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I know it's wrong
I know it's selfish

It's such a short life

With so little time
You know this pattern
Patchwork of any direction

Cobbled together
In odd shape and size

Take my hand, we'll walk through this together
But my hand gets sweaty
You somehow slip away
Try to call you, but I don't call too loud, no
Try to love, and never look that hard

Chorus:

Cos this blue's a swirling ocean

The green: the ambition

The red is the guilt

There's a lot of red

I know it's wrong
I know it's selfish
It's such a short life
So little time
Try to call you, but I don't call too loud, no
Try to love, and never look that hard

Chorus

The yellow is my sunshine

Comes out on odd occasion
Barely enough to keep you around

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to the Tindersticks' song "Patchwork" convey a sense of introspection and self-awareness, as the singer acknowledges their flaws and limitations. They are aware that their actions may be wrong and selfish, but at the same time, they seem to be struggling with their own mortality and the fleeting nature of life. The lyrics describe life as a "Patchwork of any direction," implying that there are many paths one can take, but they are all equally valid in their own way, even if they don't fit together neatly.

The singer implores their partner to take their hand and face life together, but they are plagued by doubts and uncertainties. Their hand gets sweaty, and the partner slips away, leaving the singer to contend with their own feelings of guilt and inadequacy. The lyrics suggest that the different colors represent different emotions - blue for sadness, green for ambition, red for guilt - and that the singer is struggling to reconcile these conflicting emotions within themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

I know it's wrong
I am aware that what I am doing is not right

I know it's selfish
I understand that my actions are motivated by self-interest

It's such a short life
We have little time on this earth

So little time
We must make the most of the limited time we have

You know this pattern
You are familiar with this recurring situation

Patchwork of any direction
The various pieces of our lives are connected in unpredictable ways

Cobbled together
Our lives are made up of various elements that have been put together

In odd shape and size
These elements do not always fit together neatly

Take my hand, we'll walk through this together
Let us face this situation as a team

But my hand gets sweaty
I am nervous and uncertain

You somehow slip away
You become distant or disengaged from the situation

Try to call you, but I don't call too loud, no
I am hesitant to draw too much attention to myself or the situation

Try to love, and never look that hard
It is easier to maintain a relationship when you do not scrutinize it too closely

Cos this blue's a swirling ocean
The color blue represents feelings of uncertainty and confusion

The green: the ambition
The color green represents aspirations and goals

The red is the guilt
The color red represents feelings of shame and regret

There's a lot of red
The artist feels a lot of guilt

The yellow is my sunshine
The color yellow represents happiness and joy

Comes out on odd occasion
The singer does not experience happiness often

Barely enough to keep you around
The little bit of happiness the artist experiences is not sufficient to sustain a relationship

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALASDAIR MACAULAY, DAVID BOULTER, DICKON JAMES HINCHLIFFE, MARK ANTHONY STEPHEN COLWILL, NEIL TIMOTHY FRASER, STUART ASHTON STAPLES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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