The Odd Couple
When the delicately voiced Isobel Campbell first joined with Mark Lanegan, it was match which seemed a little odd. Her, an indie pin up girl best known for her work with indie stalwarts Belle and Sebastian; with a voice all punctured in twee, indie cool. Him, best known for his involvement with desert band Screaming Trees and more recently, a solid part of the rolling line up of Queens of the Stone Age; with a voice so low in timbre, it might as well live in the far reaches of hell. They seemed very much like a musical odd couple.
The second single from "Sunday At Dirt Devil", 'Come On Over (Turn Me On)' finds the pair in full on sultry and sexy mode. All sweeping strings, slow piano (with the slightest air of Nina Simone’s, 'Feeling Good') and a faint current of jazz underpinning the track, it entices the listener in to its low down and dirty world.
The contrast betweens Campbell’s soft, breathy refrains and Lanegan’s gruffness works to perfection; her sweet to his sour; her yin to his yang; they complement each other beautifully.
In short, this is perhaps one of the best seductive records to come out since Death In Vegas’, Dirge.