Equal Measures of DIGNITY AND SHAME Slipping Through CROOKED FINGERS in 2005

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Sep 2, 2022
2 min read

Crooked Fingers

“Dignity And Shame” Merge Records

2005

On their fourth release, Dignity And Shame, Crooked Fingers’ traditional pop group instrumentation of guitar/bass/drum is augmented by little more than occasional trumpet and dreamy piano. Yet the music proudly defies direct musical comparisons and instead brings to mind vivid imagery and hallucinatory heat stroke visions. The opening instrumental “Islero” a prime example, it unfurls like a Spaghetti Western in a teenage medicine head fever dream of bright oranges, brick reds, and blazing sun on your sweat-soaked brow. A far cry from the strum und clang of his days with Archers Of Loaf, here Eric Bachmann salutes the waning beauty of a desert sunset with a wistful sigh. With a compelling, conversational vocal style, he finds redemption in his surrender to the inevitable. A nasal rasp not unlike mid-70s Dylan, Bachmann’s vocals convey a melancholy strength and proud resignation to life’s hard lessons and lost love. Most of the record is rooted in nylon-stringed acoustic guitar, but the proceedings occasionally get quite raucous. “Coldways” for example works itself into a distorted frenzy, even approaching the elusive territory of My Bloody Valentine before the whole swirly squall finally collapses under its own mounting tension. The downer ballad “Destroyer” is a sparse but persistent piano & tom tom arrangement that finally coaxes a thrashing, flailing solo from Bachmann’s electric guitar. When the fluttering reckless razor sharp guitar pulls crashing cymbals and the rest of the drum kit into the fray for the fade-out, the sense of tension and release is pure, the catharsis complete. Dignity And Shame is not without its simple pop tunes, catchy little confections like “Call to Love” and “Valarie” that will have you tapping your foot and singing along upon first listen. I am more than a little tempted to call this excellent CD a ‘concept album’. For fear of inadvertently attaching the unfair stigma of that oft-misunderstood label, I won’t go that far. But, for sure, this is a cohesive group of related tunes with recurring themes and phrases. Each song conveying a different perspective on a series of events, relating another scene or new chapter, and ultimately contributing to a greater whole. But each song also a sparkling pop gem standing on its own merits, reflecting an array of fresh angles.