A tangible sense of mutual curiosity propels the five members of Tindersticks to fresh territory on Soft Tissue, their 14th album proper. Previously, on No Treasure but Hope (2019), these mavens of mood and beauty had embraced a kind of dusky, live-sounding naturalism, followed by the bracingly executed experimental left-turns of 2020’s Distractions.

As resilient and flexible as its title suggests, Soft Tissue connects and exceeds those extremes, drawing new life from the contrasts and convergences of its tight, intuitive songs and restless details.

Nurtured into being by the band and their collaborators as a kind of open “conversation”, says singer and producer Stuart Staples, the result is the sound of a band inspired by a fervent shared desire – and capacity – to surprise themselves.

“I think I was looking for both these elements,” explains Stuart, reflecting on the record’s fluent navigation of intimacy and experiment. “We wanted to find a way to have the energy of the band playing together and that scrutiny of songwriting, but to not let up on how interesting the music can be sonically.”