Mark Lanegan's Field Songs

Many fans of the Screaming Trees were startled (or oblivious) when vocalist Mark Lanegan embarked upon a round of solo recordings. At first these creative ventures seemed tentative, as if he was merely seeking an outlet for his muse at times when the configuration of the Trees proved too constrictive. But his first effort, The Winding Sheet, was in many ways as powerful and compelling (albeit more subtle) as anything Lanegan had produced with his better-known band. This album managed to get a little attention, thanks to Kurt Cobain's guest appearance on a couple of tracks and it being the heyday of the so-called "Seattle sound" fascination. Its follow-up, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, was four years in the making. These were halcyon days for Mark Lanegan's creative spirit but also the peak of his honeymoon with the forces of self-destruction. In time he managed to clean up and get focused on work again; with the demise of the Screaming Trees, his solo records were his primary vehicles. Field Songs, his fifth album, marked a true return to form even as it broached musical and lyrical matter that many people would never have associated with Mark Lanegan years before.

The first song, "One Way Street" might evoke either the aftermath of a bad trip, withdrawal, or the sense that the universe is moving to a rhythm very different from one's own. This is one of the strongest tracks, with a soaring bridge and a note of urgency sustained throughout. "No Easy Action" is the only fully electrified song on the album, moving at a panicky pace only to segue, effortlessly, into the plaintive "Miracle", a short ode to the fragile beauty of love with a haunting melody and hypnotic descending guitar riff.

"Pill Hill Serenade" ushers in some gentle piano and guitar arpeggios to comfort one through its moments where "memory fades" and "the sun comes up dead". "Don't Forget Me" then shatters the pastoral with some chugging acoustic guitar and touching sentiments of loyalty held for the one who got away.

Field Songs hits a dizzy peak with "Kimiko's Dream House" and the trance-inducing "Resurrection Song" (which the Mark Lanegan band showcased to profound effect during their American tour that year - 2001). The title track is so short as to almost seem an interlude, and it climaxes with some jagged guitar sounds that defy description. "Blues For D" is an aching instrumental featuring Ben Sheppard, previously of Soundgarden, on guitar. "Done Too Much" is another quick number, profoundly sad and offering no hope for resolution. This leaves the album to wrap up with the relentless and repetitive psychedelia of "Fix".

Though he may never have found so wide an audience on his own as with the Screaming Trees, Mark Lanegan seems to have discovered a more natural home for his voice and vision. It's definitely ironic that a rock singer would prove so ideally suited to capture the true spirit of American folk and blues - though maybe it's not so surprising, when one considers that those old-time singers were inspired by loss and misfortune very similar to what Lanegan lives and writes about. On Field Songs, his ability to tap into that collective human pain - and provide an appropriately ragged voice for it - arguably reached its highest peak.