This was Waits' first album in 5 years - though the gap had been filled by a live album and a Jim Jarmusch soundtrack.
Waits had been moving away from his jazzy lounge piano tunes and drunken balladeer persona and into more avant territory. Here he takes that evolution one step further, with a sound that I would class as "demented T-Bone Burnett".
Waits recorded the album in space in the basement of the recording studio with concrete floors and a hot water heater. He liked the echo of the room, and used this to best suit the songs. They were essentially stripped down blues tracks, but with the vibe created by the room the sound feels much denser than it actually is.
The album is light on piano, with Waits' sound moving more towards the guitar and interesting percussion tracks.
Probably not my favourite Waits album, but you can hear him starting to get his 90s-Waits sound going and getting comfortable in that skin.
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