It’s the kind of album that you know won’t be the most uplifting use of your time, but can’t remove yourself from because of its inventive magnificence.
‘Save Me’ immediate signifies that the album to follow won’t be conventional, but rather, one of those rare albums that pulls you in rather than merely becoming background noise.
‘Feast to Famine’ has an eerie and transcendent intro with a pulsing bass-line which grows through the intro like tree roots, intersected by crisp highlights of guitar. Lanegan’s voice is inconspicuous and sorrowfully essential; the beauty lying in its simplicity.
The title track has a gloomy, simple beat that’s played upon by Garwood’s tastefully understated guitar licks. The vocals are similarly dreary and lyrically dark, but perhaps don’t showcase Lanegan’s voice quite as effectively as other songs.
If anything, the album falters slightly in the middle in its lack of energy and display of Lanegan’s vocal range, which extend much further than soft murmurs and sorrowful growls. However, ‘One Way Glass’ and ‘Desert Song’ more than redeem the album and end it on a beautifully sullen note.
7/10