Tindersticks - Theater Akzent

Theater Akzent, Wien

It is said that tindersticks introduced"Shakespearean tragedy into alternative rock", and according to "Der Spiegel", there is no-one whocan "make something of dreary lovesickness as elegantly" as the independent pop band founded in Nottingham (UK) in 1991. The band's name goes back to the chance encounter between their singer, "professional melancholic" & guitarist Stuart A. Staples (who always swallows his notes slightly) and a carelessly discarded box of matches during a vacation in Greece. The rest is two decades of history, filled by tindersticks with their own distinctive sound and sonic aesthetic. Staples' use of his baritone,"who we'd listen to spellbound even if he was singing the phone book", as TBA magazine put it on the 2010 album "Falling Down A Mountain", expanded the definition of the term "soul". The often chamber music-like realization of their songs has led to numerous instrumental works, for example for film soundtracks - although tindersticks songs are small films, stories and narratives in themselves.

Elegance and subtlety have always been inherent in tindersticks and their music, an occasional tendency towards opulence in the arrangements as well as the talent to get straight to the heart of the emotional core of a song, to deal quickly with slow tempos (and vice versa), and to bring gravitas and lightness into a vital balance. tindersticks survey a wide artistic space, not unlike that in which Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds once moved (tindersticks supported them on their first European tour). Terms such as "chamber pop" or "art pop" fall short, just as the ballad category is far too small to encompass this band and their rich music.

With their new 15th studio album in their luggage, they return to their favorite place in Vienna for three concerts at the start of their upcoming tour.