Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan | Ballad of the Broken Seas
Posted by Paul in The Yellow Stereo
Listening to Ballad of the Broken Seas you really get the sense that you’re listening to a soundtrack to a very sad western. With this album you have Isobel Campbell’s (formerly of Belle & Sebastian) soft, whispery voice paired with Mark Lanegan’s (former frontman of Screaming Trees) gruff, grizzled and broken voice. As many descriptions have said this indeed has a very “beauty & the beast” quality to it.
This stark contrast can easily be a turn off upon first listen, but from the first track “Deus Ibi Est” you can tell how their voices play off each other so well. This and a few others perfectly showcases how this pairing just completely works. Sadly, there are other tracks that don’t integrate each of their styles so well. There are songs here that completely have no energy and are just downright dull. This is possibly due to the fact that a majority of the tracks were recorded with each on opposite sides of the ocean. Even though Isobel is credited with writing most of the songs, most of the album her voice takes a back seat and is relegated to just backup vocals. Which is a sad thing to me because it’s songs like “Black Mountain” that just showcases how beautiful her voice is over the classical musical stylings.
Bottom line is besides the few misses with some a lot of the songs, but the few songs of this album when completely clicking and working on all cylinders is amazingly good. The best songs definitely make up for the weaknesses of the others. Might take a few spins to completely get into it (skip the crappy filler tracks), but is worth your time cos you really don’t hear music like this anymore.
Mp3s
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan | “Deus Ibi Est”
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan | “Black Mountain”
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan | “Revolver”
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