Red Devil Dawn

Crooked Fingers include: Eric Bachmann.
Eric Bachmann, the man behind the Crooked Fingers moniker (and former frontman of indie rock icons Archers of Loaf) unveiled his masterpiece, the follow-up to a fascinating EP of covers. RED DEVIL DAWN mines the mélange of influences weighing down his first couple of Crooked efforts--namely, a newfound Neil Diamond vocal machismo and a Tom Waits-cum-Leonard Cohen rustic melancholy--and uses them as the foundation for a personal and wholly moving work all his own. Opener "Big Darkness" is a rousing anti-anthem to kick things off, building in emotional momentum and layers of instrumentation. And there's the passionate lyrical fire on songs like "You Can Never Leave" and "You Threw A Spark" that shows a man outgrowing his influences. DAWN reads like a complete album, from its invigorating start to the unexpectedly beautiful comedown of the closing trifecta "Angelina," "Disappear," and "Carrion Doves." DEVIL is proof that sometimes we have to go through the sinister process of self-discovery to make incredible art.