Mark Lanegan Band: Phantom Radio

One-time Screaming Trees singer goes back to the 80s.

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Ever since his Screaming Trees days, singer Mark Lanegan has been synonymous with a dark, dusty, dangerous corner of the American musical landscape. So it’s a bit of a surprise to find him, on this ninth solo album, ensconced under the grey skies of 1980s England.

From the deep, chiming gothic guitar of opener Harvest Home to the chilly synths and Hooky bass line of Floor Of The Ocean, he channels Joy Division, Echo And The Bunnymen and The Cure alongside Depeche Mode at their most downcast. But, master craftsman that he is, he totally manages to Laneganise this starting point, using it sparingly and stirring in a folky Americana and some sumptuous Old Testament imagery on the bluesy Judgement Time.

And then, of course, there’s that voice. Always threateningly beautiful, if anything it’s getting better with age – grittier by the year, and more soulful, while retaining the melancholic warmth that made his previous projects so special. There’s no faking this kind of quality.

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.