The first thing that strikes you about this album is, considering the bleak mood throughout, how much fun it actually is. It seems like Lanegan has managed to straddle the divide between industrial carnage and pumping disco whilst keeping things firmly grounded in, for want of a better word, hell. In short, this album is a rollercoaster ride through the dark depths of Mark Lanegan’s mind whilst tongue is kept firmly in cheek.
Album opener, and first single, ‘The Gravediggers Song’ sets the scene with its industrial riffs and Tom Waitsian vocal. All the years of rock and roll abuse have turned Lanegan into a one of a kind vocalist with the softer edges which were more prevalent in his Screaming Trees days turned into a much more raspier, fulfilling sound. The lyrics haven’t changed much though, an unhealthy obsession with death pervades all the songs on this album but as stated these are punctuated with moments of levity.
‘Bleeding Muddy Water’ slows the pace down into a swampy blues number awash with synths while next song, ‘Gray Goes Black’, revisits Lanegan’s more poppier moments. It is this jumping between styles whilst keeping things on a bleak level which makes this album a much more enjoyably proposition than some of his previous work. There is a more consistent feel about the songs and you have to wonder, having been man for hire for any number of bands, where he finds the time to come up with songs that are as good as this.
Which brings me on to the best track on the album, ‘Ode to Sad Disco’. This does exactly what the title states; a sort of zombie disco for industrial, techno heads complete with a glitterball synth sound reflecting, in parts, the music he was making with SoulSavers. It is an extraordinary piece of work which acts as the centrepiece of the album and holds it all together by combining all the disparate pieces of Lanegan’s sound.
From start to finish, the relentless pace doesn’t let up. Each song is a perfect embodiment of its parts whilst still keeping the theme of the previous song. It is not a concept album but more of a mood album which invites you into Mark Lanegan’s world for a little while. You may not like all you have to hear but you will sure have fun and by the end of the final song ‘Tiny Grain of Truth’, a brilliant song which manages to include samples, brass, riffs, and disembodied voices, you may come to the conclusion that this is where you want to stay. This may be well be the finest album released this year.
Blues Funeral is released on February 7th through 4AD
Posted by Martyn Coppack
