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"Mark Lanegan generously opens the door of his album to us, rhythmed by 80's sounds on which he puts his warm and comforting voice."
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5/5
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Mark Lanegan crosses time and genres. The prolific Washington native singer tried grunge (Screaming Trees), a sticky folk blues (under his solo name) or in the company of celestial creatures (Isobel Campbell, Queens Of The Stone Age and even Gérard Manset). Surrounded by his faithful Greg Dulli on guitar and Martyn LeNoble on bass and the Chilean multi-instrumentalist and producer Alain Johannes, Mark Lanegan invites us to knock on a door that may seem banal but behind which lies a fascinating world.
On his previous album''Gargoyle'', Mark Lanegan explored more electronic sounds with the rigour of a researcher. The singer has always shown an open-mindedness that paradoxically may have prevented him from creating his imperishable masterpiece. From the very first minutes of this ''Somebody's Knocking'', the gloomy and sticky atmosphere meets the 80's. We think of Cure, Sisters Of Mercy (one would dream of a duet between Andrew Eldritch and Mark Lanegan), New Order or Joy Division (with Peter Hook's characteristic bass sound on 'Playing Nero' or 'Name And Number'). The new wave and the cold wave are not opportunely used to serve as a showcase for his voice but are used as real playgrounds to explore and do not suffer from any artificiality. Just take a look at 'She Loves You' where keyboards close to New Order fit comfortably into each other with the harder sounds of guitars.
About the vocal, Mark Lanegan drinks Bourbon with his grinning colleagues Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. His golden voice spectrum continues to haunt us throughout this album. The singer invites us to explore his world like on the asphyxiating and tribal "Disbelief Suspension" where the listener is invited to leave his skepticism on the side. We listen to the strange testimony of an enlightened man who ventured out to Kabul ('Night Flight In Kabul') in contempt of death, attracted by Gold, in a gloomy disco where the walls ooze the memory of Ian Curtis in 'Dark Disco Jag', or near the last Indian on 'War Horse' (the voice is very close to Tom Waits there). The concise and minimalist writing does not, however, prevent the emotion from contaminating us: "Letter Never Sent" suddenly moves us when we listen to an anthological and poignant chorus; the spatial ballad "Playing Nero", the luminous "Two Bells Ringinging At Once" or the unexpected poignant chorus of "Name And Number" prove that beauty loves to be overwhelmed by darkness.
"Somebody's Knocking" doesn't owe Harry Nilsson or Bob Dylan anything. Mark Lanegan generously opens the door of his album to us, rhythmed by 80's sounds on which he puts his warm and comforting voice. Some artists find their formula and strive to never deviate from it while Mark Lanegan jumps without a parachute, driven by his love of music and his thirst for new adventures. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Disbelief Suspension - 3:15
02. Letter Never Sent - 3:31
03. Night Flight to Kabul - 3:30
04. Dark Disco Jag - 3:55
05. Gazing from the Shore - 3:42
06. Stitch It Up - 3:03
07. Playing Nero - 4:16
08. Penthouse High - 6:23
09. Paper Hat - 4:27
10. Name and Number - 3:39
11. War Horse - 2:51
12. Radio Silence - 4:02
13. She Loved You - 5:30
14. Two Bells Ringing at Once - 4:49
LINEUP:
Mark Lanegan: Chant
Rob Marshall: Basse
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STAFF:
5/5 (1 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH MARK LANEGAN BAND
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