Crooked Fingers: Evolution of Melancholy To Spanish Mariachi

New To Me

Eric Bachmann (center) and the Crooked Fingers gang.

When I first heard Eric Bachmann's voice, it was safe to say I found it haunting and pleasantly affecting, maybe more the former than the latter.  It hit me where a vocalist would hope it would hit someone.  

The first song I remember hearing by Bachmann was "Big Darkness" from the 2003 Crooked Fingers release Red Devil Dawn.  I loved everything about it, mostly that it told the sad story about a nameless town with no hope on the brink of destruction.  Yet in Bachmann's gravelly and wizened voice, he tells of a hero who will come to save that town, ironically by covering it in darkness.  I know, it's counterintuitive, but trust me when you listen to the song, three things will happen: you'll understand why you want that hero to come, you'll hit repeat to play the song again and you'll want to hear more from Crooked Fingers.

When I was DJ'ing at East Village Radio a couple years back, I met a regular there that liked what I was playing.  We had similar taste in music and he turned me on to the mellow, yet powerful sound coming from Crooked Fingers and Bachmann.  He mentioned that it was very different from Bachmann's former work with indie icons Archers of Loaf.  I had heard some Archers, but it did not resonate with me the way "Big Darkness" did that night in the bar next to the DJ booth.  Besides Bachmann's voice, many of the songs employ the use of strings and horns and the pacing is perfect for sipping beers and telling lies.

To set the score of that bar, L'il Frankie's, Bachmann would be able to write a song that is simultaneously melancholic and celebratory.  The always friendly and even more honest bartender Francesca presides over the scene; it is one of the final holdouts of the original Bohemian-like New York City that once existed.  Countless creative and bizarre people stroll in and out and the music is always interesting (even off-putting at times)...a band like Crooked Fingers perfectly provide the soundtrack.  

Vitals:

Band Members:

Eric Bachmann started Crooked Fingers as a solo project and the line-up has been different throughout their six years of existence.  Former Archers of Loaf bassist Matt Gentling has been backing Bachmann on tour recently and a welcome addition in '05 was female vocalist and keyboardist Lara Meverratken, who has also worked with Luna and Nada Surf.

Conceived:

After Archers of Loaf broke up in 1998, Bachmann was searching for a new sound.  He formed Crooked Fingers in 2000 with a self-titled release.

Roots:

Bachmann is from Asheville, North Carolina, where Archers of Loaf was conceived.  He has also called Seattle home, but for his latest solo project, he's recorded, written and is singing about his North Carolina roots.

Sound & Sounds Like:

I am always drawn to and admire musicians who are not afraid to try a new sound, departing from the music that initially brought them success.  Bachmann eschewed the faster-paced and higher energy rock band sound that was Archers of Loaf for a sound with acoustic guitar and bass as the foundation.  The soulful and calming ballads of Crooked Fingers relied more on Bachmann's moody lyrics about losers, the damned and the doomed.  As much as it can be "sad bastard" music, it's just so beautiful with the string accompaniments that it's hard not to enjoy.  I also find the stories that Bachmann tells on the earlier Crooked Fingers work to be about lovable losers or those that are down on their luck and they're one event away from it turning for the better.  That event is the song "Islero", a celebratory and sexy instrumental with Spanish influence, off of the latest release, Dignity and Shame.

Eric Bachmann decided to take a chance once again with 2005's Dignity and Shame.  Everything about Crooked Fingers changed on this album, probably his best work to date.  It is decidedly more upbeat and positive as well as more complex instrumentally.  Apparently influenced by a Latin or Spanish sound, trumpets and maracas take center stage on many songs.  Bachmann also sings more rather than whispers his lyrics and Meverratken's backing vocals allow the songs to reach new, more smile-inducing heights.

As for who Crooked Fingers most sound like, one can hear a lot of Tom Waits in Bachmann's earlier efforts.  And as much as one could equate it to cheesiness, faster-paced Crooked Fingers songs can often resemble Neil Diamond tunes, especially Bachmann's voice on Dignity and Shame.  Trust me, this is a good thing in a "Cracklin' Rosie" sort of way.

Bar Talk:

Dignity and Shame could be considered a concept album, as it has been reported that it is based on - or at least influenced by - the Spanish actress Lope Sino and the bullfighter Manolete.

A Crooked Fingers fan, I was initially taken aback by the Neil Diamond reference above.  However, once I realized it wasn't a bad thing, I was pleased to realize that apparently Bachmann has heard this comparison as well.  In 2002, he released an EP, Reservoir Songs, that includes covers of Diamond songs as well as Queen.

Bachmann is busy in 2006, releasing a solo album without the Crooked Fingers moniker entitled To The Races.  Just released in August by Saddle Creek records - home of Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes - Bachmann returns to the safety of acoustic ballads, albeit catchier.  He sings more about the South, specifically Carrboro, NC and Savannah, GA.

Essential:

I would recommend Red Devil Dawn and Dignity and Shame to get the sense of the different sounds of Crooked Fingers.  If you like, you should work backward to Bachmann's first, the self-titled Crooked Fingers (definitely check out one of his finest songs, "New Drink for the Old Drunk").  I also recommend To The Races, as I don't think Bachmann's music is slipping.

LINKS: Crooked Fingers - Official Site