Greg Dulli is a very talented singer-songwriter. From his days in Afghan Whigs to his more recent collaboration with Mark Lanegan in The Gutter Twins, he has continued to make passionate, purposeful music. And Dynamite Steps, his latest offering under The Twilight Singers comes extremely close to matching the beauty of 2003’s Blackberry Belle.
With a cavalcade of characters ranging from Ani DiFranco, Lanegan and Joseph Arthur, Dulli and company break things open with the fine “Last Night In Town” before going back down into the proverbial gutter with the eerie, creepy “Be Invited” with Lanegan and guitarist Nick McCabe (The Verve) accenting the nugget.
However, it’s that low which makes the blistering Oasis-ish bombast of “Waves” relentlessly roll over the listener. It breaks out beautifully but just falls short of “The Killer” from Blackberry Belle. The dichotomy between the fast/slow, hard/soft is perfect when “Get Lucky” is basically Dulli, piano and strings that slowly builds on itself.
Perhaps one of the assets to Dynamite Steps is the fact that the lead single “On The Corner” sounds no stronger than any of the 11 tracks here. The dramatic “She Was Stolen” brims to the surface while the spacey, roots-y “Never Seen No Devil” is no wilting flower.
Closing with the gentle, lengthy title track which tugs at more than a few heartstrings, The Twilight Singers – to quote Jimmy Walker – are “dynOmite” on this album.
