Mark Lanegan’s perhaps best known for gruffly howling over big distorted riffs, either in Screaming Trees or Queens of the Stone Age. Phantom Radio is his eighth record of solo originals. While his early solo records positioned him as a downtrodden blues crooner, 2012’s Blues Funeral marked a shift towards synthesised new wave production. Phantom Radio pushes this aesthetic even further.
The incorporation of synths and electronic programming mitigates Lanegan’s habitual morbidity. Subsequently, several of Phantom Radios concisely drawn compositions take on an optimistic edge. It doesn’t take much digging to realise Lanegan’s still surveying a grim scene. His lyrical interests are summed up in album opener Harvest Home: “Black is my colour, black is my name/I need something to help me chase the devil away.” The hope intimated by the upbeat gait of The Killing Season or the dreamy synth play of Torn Red Heart is slashed down upon noticing the track titles.
Phantom Radio is not only bereft of conventional rock songs, the electric guitar is almost entirelykept at the periphery. Strangely enough, Lanegan’s fibrous melancholy suits the synthetic setting. While he’s largely appeared either cantankerous or downcast in the past, placed amid playful electronics, Lanegan’s inimitable vocal gravel gathers near-tragic romance.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Best Track: Floor of the Ocean
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: SUICIDE, THE GUN CLUB, JACK LADDER
In A Word: Alfresco
