Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood - Black Pudding
It's easy to lose track of former Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan and his collaborations. It seems like as soon as I think I'm up to date I find a couple more that slipped by. In fact, he's been so prolific over the last few years that I wouldn't be surprised if he wrote and recorded albums in his sleep. Black Pudding is Lanegan's most recent collaborative release, coming shortly after the Mark Lanegan Band's 2012 album Blues Funeral.
Lanegan's latest collaboration sees him pair up with English multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood, a man who has toured and recorded with artists such as Seasick Steve, Sir Richard Bishop, Wire, Alexander Tucker, The Gutter Twins and Kurt Vile.
The album opens with title track Black Pudding, a melancholy instrumental with a flamenco feel. Pentecostal is a lo-fi acoustic blues, suiting Lanegan's weathered vocals to a tee. On Mescalito it feels more like a full band performing, but retains the intimacy of the more stripped down tracks, whereas Driver and Death Ride, whilst not bad tracks per se, drift by pleasantly, but forgettably. Elsewhere, Thank You is somewhat Avant Garde musically; dissonant, with the use of drones and plinking piano, while standout track Cold Molly is a slow, dark, funky track. Shade Of The Sun is rendered oddly haunting by the use of a simple mellotron melody from Garwood and final track Manchester Special is a fingerpicking good guitar instrumental.
Throughout Black Pudding Garwood weaves musical tapestries on a variety of instruments while Lanegan, with a voice gritty enough to give your ears road rash, does his usual stuff. If you already know and love Lanegan, then this is another essential purchase. If you have yet to be drawn in by his haunting laments then this is as good a place to start as any - Dark and bleak in places, but also soothing to the ear and soul, this is particularly perfect for late night listening.