It's always a little bit heartbreaking when an artist who is dependent on his or her voice starts to lose mastery of the instrument. What made Mariah Carey's pipes transcendent in 1995 now make them seem tragically thin. Former Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli may not have the same burden of success that Carey does, the sharp rasp that characterized Whigs staples like "Debonair" and "Gentlemen" has started to slip. It's a little hollower now, a little flatter — as if the years of smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey in empty bars has finally caught up with him.

Luckily, Dulli has always been able to fall back on his exquisite songwriting skills to carry him through the rough patches. He remains sharp as ever on Dynamite Steps, Dulli's fourth album under the Twilight Singers name. Originally established as a loose collective of musicians Dulli happened to find interesting (most of them based around his adopted home of New Orleans), Twilight Singers has evolved into a particular extension of Dulli's psyche and musical affections. Most of the songs are built on the same blues and soul structures the Whigs specialized in, but Dulli stretches the arrangements until the songs weep… read more »