REVIEW: Mark Lanegan Band - Phantom Radio

Mark Lanegan’s ghostly voice should be all over radio. Alas, it’s not. But no matter, Phantom Radio is another fluid effort by this veteran musician, singer and songcrafter. He fronted the Seattle-based rockers Screaming Trees during the heady days of grunge in the 80’s and early 90’s, and has released a steady stream of consistently solid material, including works with Isobel Campbell and Moby. Lanegan’s work has always had a subtle gothic blues underlining that mixes with stoner and psychedelic rock, all the while he has worked to expand the realms of rock throughout his career. Phantom Radio continues that expansion. The album kicks off with the rocker “Harvest Home,” imbued with Lanegan’s smoky voice that once heard is always remembered. There are the electronica-touched songs “Floor of the Ocean” and “The Killing Season.” There’s the shuffling and funky “Seventh Day.” The slow burning “Waltzing in Blue” is like good whisky flowing through the veins. Lanegan’s voice is so powerful that even musically sparse songs like “Judgment Time” have the ability to unhinge the listener, grabbing on like a vice grip. A dark mood prevails in “I am the Wolf,” while the brooding closer “Death Trip to Tulsa” burns up the speakers as it unfolds. Lanegan is a personal favorite. He, along with Nick Cave, though both stylistically unique, have infused an adventurous musical ethos into rock music for years.

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