Possessing the finest album opener of recent times in the shudderingly malevolent ‘The Gravedigger’s Song’, it would seem that the eight years since Lanegan last flew solo have provided the inspiration for songs of an astonishing calibre. This is a confident, bold and captivating record, and one which is dominated by that beguilingly ragged voice. Musical accompaniment includes turns from Josh Homme and Greg Dulli, with whom Lanegan previously worked as part of The Twilight Singers.
‘Gray Goes Black’ picks up the electro touches from the opener and belies a penchant for Krautrock, which puts in another appearance on the splendidly titled ‘Ode To Sad Disco’. Having worked up some of these songs using keyboards and a drum machine rather than the guitar, ‘Blues Funeral’ possesses the fullest and most varied sound of his career to date.
When the guitars are foregrounded, Lanegan can still strut like the best: ‘Riot In My House’ a particularly fine burst of energy. ‘Harborview Hospital’ is a curious collection of synth swirls and plodding drum loops, whilst tucked sombrely amongst the album’s louder moments is the melancholic ‘Phantasmagoria Blues’.
‘Leviathan’, a squawly waltz, takes an unexpected turn towards the end when the repeated lyric “Every day a prayer for what I never knew / This is one I said for you,” suddenly gains ‘Pet Sounds’-style harmonies, conjuring a sense of what Brian Wilson’s more troubling moments may have sounded like in his head. In a good way, of course.
9/10
Words by GARETH JAMES