This review appears in Washington Square News.
The Gutter Twins is Greg Dulli (The Afghan Whigs, The Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age). These indie-rock legends have worked together throughout their careers, making Saturnalia a natural collaboration. It has its share of grim moments, with its two frontmen trading dour vocals throughout the record. But moments of fragile beauty emerge from the disc's whiskey-drenched haze.
A somewhat religious fervor marks opener "The Stations," with its references to God and wordless exaltations. But the Twins contains this energy for the first few songs by keeping them at a mid-tempo pace, waiting until "Idle Hands" to unleash a full blast. A muscular guitar riff and abrasive chanting mark that song as the template for what most would assume "Saturnalia" would sound like. But Lanegan and Dulli are too smart to stick to such an obvious format.
The majority of Saturnalia is characterized by restraint. Electronic beats leisurely carry the later songs, while ones without the wails resemble acoustic ballads. The vocals are impassioned, but never go over the top. Both men have perfected the howl, and they use it with discretion. Saturnalia is not missing Dulli and Lanegan's trademark darkness, but it remains shockingly accessible.
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The Gutter Twins play at Webster Hall on March 19th. Great Northern is opening.
MP3: The Gutter Twins - The Stations
MP3: The Gutter Twins - Idle Hands
MySpace: The Gutter Twins
Official Site: The Gutter Twins
1 comment:
We attended the show across the river in Newport, Kentucky and have to say that Greg might as well have just been on stage by himself. He was amazing. Mark had no stage presence and was kind of a goofy distraction. I was almost certain we were watching a Will Ferrell spoof of Nick Cave as Mark stood there gripping the microphone, moaning. I know it sounds harsh but really...can anyone share a stage with Mr. Dulli? Nah.
Nice to catch up with your blog btw!!
xo
Casey
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