Tindersticks Turn in Textured Show

Imagine Nick Cave and spaghetti-western soundtrack maestro Ennio Morricone trading secrets with crooner Serge Gainsbourg in the dark corners of a flamenco bar. That’s the territory of the Tindersticks, an English band that immerses European lounge in an inky punk aesthetic.

The sound--moving and removed--works on the group’s latest, best album, “Curtains,” so anticipation was high among its growing cult for the Londoners’ show at the El Rey Theatre on Tuesday.

But it turns out that singer-songwriter-guitarist Stuart Staples resonates better in the bedroom, where you can be lulled by his dark musings on love, desperation and disillusionment, than in concert. While the six-piece group, armed with vibes and violin alongside guitars, flawlessly wove its textured soundscape, it was almost too perfect and airtight for a live show.

The danger potential rested firmly on Staples’ words, but it is a task to decipher his rich voice on record, and it’s almost impossible live. Only during his swaggering version of “Rented Rooms” and a sassy duet with Ann Magnuson did Staples shine as he does on record.