Tindersticks - Distractions (LP)

Tindersticks – Distractions is a late-night introspective drift blending chamber pop with minimal soul. Released by City Slang in 2021 the album strips back the band’s lush arrangements in favor of sparse textures. Stuart Staples delivers his signature croon over subdued rhythms and ambient shadows that feel personal and deeply human.

The opener Man Alone (Can’t Stop the Fadin’) unfolds across eleven hypnotic minutes where repetition becomes a form of meditation. It recalls elements of Talk Talk and slowcore artists like Low building on loops and tension. The band leans into electronic restraint with subtle bass pulses guiding the emotional weight of the song.

Covers like You’ll Have to Scream Louder by Television Personalities and A Man Needs a Maid by Neil Young are reimagined with hushed reverence and slow-burning ache. They fit perfectly in the tracklist like old thoughts resurfacing in a sleepless night. The band keeps things intimate spacious and beautifully restrained.

Distractions isn’t about hooks or choruses it’s about atmosphere solitude and emotional drift. There’s a weightless sadness in each track that makes it one of Tindersticks’ most subtle yet affecting works. Fans of Leonard Cohen and Scott Walker will find solace here where the silences speak just as loud as the words.