CROOKED FINGERS
Dignity and Shame
Merge
· Originally slated to be a double album, Dignity and Shame was cut down from 21 songs to 12. Though he probably hates to hear it, when Eric Bachman sings he totally sounds like Neil Diamond.
Since the dissolution of The Archers of Loaf, Eric Bachman has turned out several solo albums, either as Berry Black or Crooked Fingers. With every release his delivery has become more confident, his songwriting more intricate and his voice more charming. Dignity and Shame continues that trend and is Bachman’s best outing to date.
Opening with "Islero," a track that builds from a string-plucked eulogy to a full-on Tex-Mex shakedown, complete with trumpet, Bachman continues to show us that he refuses to be confined by his past as part of a giant indie-rock band. The song is stylistically alone on the album, though it is a beautiful diversion, and in no time at all, Bachman gets back to business with his trademark Neil Diamond sea-shanty sound. Like many aging indie rockers who turn to roots-influenced ditties when they finally have the experience to back it up, Bachman wears his maturity well. Whether he is dueting with Lara Meyerattken on "Call to Love," sitting down at the piano as on "Twilight Creeps" or perfecting the slow build on "Destroyer," Bachman decisively slams the nails into the coffin of Archers of Loaf with an album that surpasses their work (and his solo work) with ease.
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