Mark's Moods

AMG Review of Mark's Moods

Will Lerner
All Music Guide

No Tindersticks fan could imagine an album by this wonderfully dark and dreamy British group that is almost completely devoid of Stuart Staples' voice, but this is what one gets with Marks Moods (the title most likely doesn't refer to any mood swings suffered by bassist Mark Colwill, as there's no apostrophe in the word "Marks"; the band is simply marking moods, you see). Almost everything on this promotional release is instrumental, even those numbers which were originally recorded with vocals. This sampler hunts and pecks through a period of the band's career (1993-1997), and does indeed reveal the musicians to be masters of mood, pacing, and arranging. It might seem worthless to have "Ballad of Tindersticks" broken up into two pieces, and shorn of Staples' subtly humorous spoken word commentary, but, upon close listen, the song is shown to be haunting even without the vocals, evoking a long drive down empty streets on a dark night. And what might be sacrilegious to some could be an old favorite reborn for others: "No More Affairs," with a trumpet bleating out the vocal line. When the listener realizes that Marks Moods was sent out to film producers, it's raison d'ętre becomes clear: the lads are showing more than a little interest in composing music for features. (Of course, they've done this already, and there are a few choice tracks from the Nenette Et Boni soundtrack to be heard here.) This would never be the album you'd use to introduce someone to the band -- the unparalleled eponymously titled album from 1995 would be the best place to start -- but for those moments when a little Stuart goes a long way, this is where you should turn.