Mark Lanegan
Phantom Radio

An iPhone app for rhythm bases and new wave carpets as a defining sound. It could be the foundation of a musical disaster, and we can be sure it would be so for practically anyone, unless that anyone is named Mark Lanegan.

Even in this album, Lanegan once again showcases his incredible interpretive ability, turning a project that is inherently insane into something successful. Under the grave and troubled notes of his voice, the often "disco"-style percussion does not annoy but provokes, and the new wave sounds do not seem, as one might expect, a clumsy attempt to recall ghosts of the past just to somehow fit within a musical aesthetic. Instead, they succeed in solidifying, much like the previous Blues Funeral, what is a true declaration of poetics. Thus, there is a message or rather a meta-message, beyond the meanings of the individual lyrics (which are not intended to be delved into here), and when this happens, praise for the work is mandatory.

It is also important to consider the easy accessibility of Phantom Radio’s music, especially in relation to its sophisticated compositional style, not so much harmonically as in the melodies. The phrasing in Lanegan's new tracks, while not reaching the level of the pieces in Bubblegum (not to mention the albums with the legendary Screaming Trees), manages to surprise without ever feeling forced. This is, therefore, an album enjoyable right from the start, despite not being trivial—in simple words: good music.

The already mentioned interpretative power of the singer manifests consistently, perhaps a bit intermittently, throughout the album's duration, bursting forth in some gems among which, from this perspective, the track "I'm the Wolf" stands out, whose listening is highly recommended even for those not interested in the entire album.

With this Phantom Radio, in short, Lanegan offers us an album easy to underestimate, but ultimately it brings with it something interesting, or more simply, something beautiful.