Crooked Fingers

Sounding like an indie version of Neil Diamond, Eric Bachman hides his flask of acoustic misery with a collection of mostly upbeat, Latin-tinged melodies based on the life of a bullfighter. Tragic topics aside, "Weary Arms" and "Call to Love" are nearly life affirming. Additional harmonies come from Australian Lara Meyerattken.

Smoothing out their mix of Tom Waits grime and sweet heartland folk, Crooked Fingers will
sound surprisingly elegant to anyone who remembers singer Eric Bachmann from his
club-shaking indie-rock days with Archers of Loaf: On the Fingers' fifth album, Bachmann
employs his band sparingly as he rambles on in his trademark croak and empties the ashtray
of his brain.