Record Label: Anti-
Genre: Tom Waits defies genre.
Band Link: link
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The mad crooner is back with two good releases, Alice and Blood Money. Alice is the gentler of the two, harking back to his 70s loungey songs of broken hearts and from-the-pit-of-the-stomach misery. While most of the songs are slow and pretty in their sad Waits way (notably the title track and Flower’s Grave), some of the tunes slip into Boresville, while others (like the abrasive Kommienezuspadt) don’t belong at all.

Blood Money is more percussive and ultimately more interesting, with Waits’ frightening bellowing, crazed polka shuffles, and lyrics that are more gallows humor than Alice’s just plain gallows. Both are classic Tom Waits, twisting gentle music into jagged fractals.

Bottom Line:
Notable Tracks:
Overall Rating: -1