Tom Waits Week: Mule Variations and Beyond (1999-present)

The production style is more stripped-down, while still allowing Tom room to experiment. It seems like he got all the anger out of his system with Bone Machine. His themes can still be dark, but he allows himself to be sad about them. The apocalyptic explosion is over. On Bone Machine, the Earth died screaming. Now, it dies quietly, and only Tom Waits really notices. Although it’s not all gloom, either. Tom can still find joy in the strangest of places.