(Constellation)

www.cstrecords.com

Too many bands underestimate the healing powers of time off, choosing the heroic flame out rather than risking the embarrassing fade out. But there's increasing evidence that the latter isn't preordained, and that there really is something to pacing oneself for the long haul. Britain's maestros of the lush and lecherous, Tindersticks, risked a five-year hiatus after 2003's desultory Waiting for the Moon, an uninspired record that epitomized the band's recent slow-but-steady fall-off. But, having also parted with Stuart Staples' chief collaborator, Dickon Hinchliffe, the band returned full of piss and vinegar and a host of fresh ideas, as their 2009 release, The Hungry Saw, amply demonstrated. That they've written and recorded an even better follow-up, Falling Down a Mountain (Constellation), and done much of it during a whirlwind three-month summer session in 2009, suggests the time-off idea will be the key to a successful second act. The sextet that made The Hungry Saw return here, and the addition of third guitarist David Kitt and new drummer Earl Harvin create even more lush arrangements for the Northern Soul-tinged compositions of singer/guitarist Staples and keyboardist David Boulter, the chief architects.

Some of the orchestral textures may even recall the band's 1997 release, Curtains, but in truth the sonic palette is broader here and the compositions more diverse. The opening title track features a deep 5/8 groove, eerie keys and background feedback, all of it forming bedding for Terry Edwards' muted trumpet scrawls and Staples' one-too-many-cocktails croon. The whole modal vibe comes off as homage to Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden. "Harmony Around My Table" is a rollicking, hand-clapping number that gathers steam throughout, adding doo-wop harmonies and vibes to a crescendo that's as joyous as anything in the band's nearly two-decade-run. "Black Smoke" is a pulsing, early Roxy Music-like rocker built on a thick, 70s' guitar riff, Staples' deadpan delivery turning frantic as he confesses "I got shot down...I was greedy for it." Staples' narratives still probe love's darker corners, but there's a sense that the singer's matured, and can at least explain why it is he does the terrible things he does.

The band's long-running cinematic flair appears in various compelling guises, too. "She Rode Me Down" gallops out of a Spaghetti Western through insistent acoustic strumming, sinister cello, and Calexico-like trumpet heralds, but adds, of all things, a flute solo to the mix. The mid-record organ wash of "Hubbard Hills" reads like an intermission, and the closing instrumental "Piano Music" finds strings, guitar and piano circling hypnotically around a gorgeous descending figure - perfect roll-credits music for a disturbing noir-mystery. Just about the only missteps are the painfully silly lyrics on "Peanuts," a duet with Mary Margaret O'Hara, and the ballad "Keep You Beautiful," which tilts precious but mostly doesn't fare well in comparison with the piano-and-guitar lament "Factory Girls." The latter is one of the most wistful songs Staples has ever penned - and for a band that's delivered a lot of those over the years, that's saying something. All these various sonic flavors, including some new ones, cohere around Tindersticks' signature identity. That's the mark of a veteran band, but one that sounds as if its second life is just beginning.

Standout Tracks: "Factory Girls," "She Rode Me Down," "Black Smoke" JOHN SCHACHT