Ignoring the occasional line-up change and their brief split in the mid-Noughties, Tindersticks have now been together for 21 years. While they’ve never quite broken big in the way fellow travellers Elbow did, the moody Nottingham troubadours have still produced an impressively eclectic body of work. They’ve recorded nine acclaimed studio albums, composed music for films, museums, fashion shows and art installations, collaborated with some major names, and toured the planet several times over. Not bad going for a bunch of, aham, 21-year-olds.
Recorded in Abbey Road over four days last April, their tenth studio album Across Six Leap Years is their way of marking this milestone. It’s not so much a Best Of... as a Different Versions Of... collection. Stuart Staples and co have chosen ten songs from their vast back catalogue and recorded brand new versions of them.
Bands often lament that the ideal way to make an album would be to record it only after you’ve toured the songs for a year or two. New ideas or ways of doing things occur when you’re playing the tracks live night after night, rather than recording them under the expensively ticking clock of a studio. Of course, it doesn’t work like that. However, Tindersticks have been playing these songs for many years now, and know them inside out. Here, they approach their old material as though they’re doing cover versions of another band’s songs.
There was never anything wrong with the originals, but there’s nothing wrong with these smooth new versions either. Some songs have been slowed down and souled up (‘If You’re Looking For A Way Out’), others have been made more urgent and jazzy (‘Say Goodbye To The City’). Others, still, simply sound like extremely polished live versions of their original incarnations (‘She’s Gone’).
If you’re already familiar with Tindersticks’ material, you’ll marvel at the new depths they’ve uncovered. If you’re listening with totally fresh ears, you’ll almost certainly be tempted to check out their back catalogue. All in all, it’s a pretty awesome birthday present to themselves.

Key Track: 'A Night In'