Mark Lanegan
's music can be seen as one long chronicle of a man caught in a stubborn uphill climb up a mountain of his own making, in search of his soul and his peace of mind. The well-documented chaos of
Lanegan
's private life (with addiction and violence as recurring themes) certainly seems to mesh with this interpretation, and he offered an unapologetically frank portrayal of his demons and his failings in his memoir Sing Backwards and Weep, published in April 2020.
's album
Straight Songs of Sorrow
, released the same year, both is and is not a companion piece to his book. The album's 13 songs don't add up to the story of his life, nor are they intended to. However, they seem clearly inspired by the themes and obsessions that the book chronicles; in the way many biographies include a section of photographs,
can be seen as the musical equivalent of illustrations for his story.
has never shied away from using his troubles as fuel for his songwriting, and
pushes this thinking into new territory, with an openly autobiographical perspective that feels more like reading his journal entries than just listening to an album. The pain of addiction and the agony of self-loathing walk hand in hand here, and "Ketamine," "Bleed All Over," and "Skeleton Key" are songs where
asks us to look into his wounds in order to understand his damaged psyche. As one might imagine, this makes for tough listening, yet it's also a rewarding work.
's vocals are exceptional here, relying less on the bluesy growl that is his trademark in favor of a more subtle tone that is sometimes unnerving in its intimacy. And though many rockers singing about the decadence of their wild days suggest there's a certain amount of bragging involved,
is having none of that; he makes the pain and humiliation of his fall from grace too vivid for it to ever be mistaken for fun. Downcast and spectral even by the standards of
's less-than-sunny body of work,
is psychodrama as much as it is entertainment. That also makes it one of the most nakedly compelling albums
has given us, and anyone who has been interested in his music or his life will find it darkly mesmerizing. ~ Mark Deming