Mark Lanegan gets pegged as a bit of a dark character, and that criticism is not without some validity. There’s the whiskey-soaked
baritone, the knuckle tattoos, the (now almost two decades gone) predilection
for hard substances, and a lyrical preoccupation with themes that are Old
Testament “heavy”. Which makes his
preoccupation with antique drum machines and synthesizers all the more
intriguing (and probably confounding for those who haven’t kept up with the
20-some releases he’s released in the past two decades and are expecting more “Whiskey
for the Holy Ghost”). Focusing the electronic
palate that he tinkered with on 2012’s great “Blues Funeral” (and utilizing
that album’s Alain Johannes as his primary collaborator), Lanegan filters his
observations of sin and salvation through a barrage of synths and an iPhone drum
app.
What could come off as gimmicky works,
and the dichotomy between the backing and Lanegan’s lyrics gives them an extra depth. The clickety-clack and synth burbles that
underpin “Floor of the Ocean” elevate what could have been fairly boilerplate
lyrics, and the creative sonic restlessness bears striking fruit on mid-album
standout “Seventh Day” and album-ender “Death Trip to Tulsa” (how is it that “Dark
Mark” hasn’t written a song with this title yet???) A couple songs are a bit underwritten or too
same-sounding, and there is nothing as relentlessly aggressive as “Blues
Funeral” opener “The Gravedigger’s Song” or as left-of-center as that album’s “Ode
to Sad Disco”, but the distillation of themes and sounds makes for a rewarding,
if not as immediate, listen.
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