The Down Lizzo:
Over the course of his 27 year career, Mark Lanegan has played with everyone from Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley (Alice In Chains) to PJ Harvey and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age).
He cut his teeth in The Screaming Trees in the late 80s and 90s and then went on to start an on-again, off-again solo career as The Mark Lanegan Band.
Seven solo albums later, the self professed “shadow king†is back with Blues Funeral – a potent mix of 80s synth-laden robot rock and growling whisky-soaked blues laced with a funeral dirge sentiment that haunts and enthrals at every turn.
Sick Tracks:
Blues Funeral swings between rumbling, psychedelic anthems like the pile-driving opener “The Gravedigger’s Songâ€, the relentless, Zepplinesque “Riot In My House†(on which Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme shreds throughout) and my personal favourite, the stoner rock classic “Quiver Syndrome†to quieter, more introspective tracks like “Bleeding Muddy Water†and “Deep Black Vanishing Trainâ€.
The battle-weary resignation of a life spent plunging the shadows of the human experience only to emerge with a handful of shaky half-truths smoulders in the gravel-pit tone of Lanegan’s most powerful asset, his sand-paper baritone.
Without it, Blues Funeral is an interesting melting pot of a number of different influences and genres, but nothing that would warrant a second or third listen.
With it, and the bold synth-pop experimentation Lanegan indulges on tracks like “Gray Goes Black†and “Ode To Sad Discoâ€, there is more than enough to keep you coming back for more.
Should You Give A Shit:
Look, the album’s called Blues Funeral so don’t go anywhere near it expecting an easy-listening, foot-tapping, head-bopping album of accessible radio-friendly rock tunes.
But come with an open mind and a taste for the darker things and I can almost guarantee Blues Funeral will give you something to sink your fangs into.
Give “Quiver Syndrome†a listen and see how it grabs you:
Final Verdict: 7/10
-ST
