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Mark Lanegan is notoriously one of the most charismatic musicians in the entire music scene, thanks to a unique voice and astounding songwriting abilities. His spirited singer-songwriter albums have made him a modern Johnny Cash, his electrifying forays with QOTSA and the Lanegan Band have cemented his stature with new rock generations, and even the most à la page critics have praised him for his recent work with Isobel Campbell. All well-deserved.
Yet few remember that the enigmatic Mark hails from far away, specifically from Ellensburg, Washington. It was there in 1985 that he formed, along with the Conner brothers, the Screaming Trees, one of the most underrated bands of that unrepeatable era that brought the Northwest of the States to prominence for something more significant than Boeing or Twin Peaks. Of the clutch that emerged around fateful Seattle, the Screaming Trees were chronologically among the first to create that mélange of hard rock, psychedelia, and punk that conventionally constitutes grunge, with a series of truly magical albums released in the late '80s by the queen of American indie labels, SST.
The sound alchemy of the Screaming Trees placed less emphasis on the Zeppelin-influenced hard rock like Soungarden or Mother Love Bone, focusing instead on punk: both in the raw and deranged Detroit garage stemming from The Stooges, and in the bleak and eclectic interpretation of Black Flag. The psychedelic component was also fundamental and incredibly personal: due to the lysergic reverberations emanating from Lee Conner's six-string, and Lanegan's piercing and deep voice, capable of creating disorienting Doors-like hallucinations: consider the spectral visionariness of "Grey Diamond Desert", the apex of their third album “Invisible Lantern”.
The subsequent “Buzz Factory”, released in 1989 on Greg Ginn's label before their inevitable major-label arrival, is perhaps the quartet's most mature work, perfectly realizing the grunge syncretism. Tracks like “Where the Twain Shall Meet” or “Black Sun Morning” (the title alone suggests how much this track influenced the Soundgarden of “Superunknown”…) still shock upon listening, due to the quartet's monstrous prowess in inserting dusty psychedelic fragments into the tough Black Flag crust, with the majestic vocalist shaping the torrid sonic matter, drawing out sumptuous and sick melodies.
Other peaks of this seminal album, produced by Jack Endino with his customary skill in crafting rough sonic photographs, include “Subtle Poison” (the desolate “I Wanna Be Your Dog” chords on amphetamines), “End of the Universe” (a thunderous and intricate tangle of fuzz guitars) and “Wish Bringer” (pure metallic psychedelia). Special mention also for the desert-like melancholia of “Yard Trip #7”, wrapped in Mark's apocalyptic vocal timbre, a keystone for many stoner explorations of the next decade, and for the heavy-style folk-psychedelia of “Too Far Gone”: this is how Buffalo Springfield would have sounded if they had been formed in Seattle in the '80s.
Despite being revered by scene peers (Cobain, Cornell, and Staley competed to collaborate with Lanegan), and even though the major label albums were excellent (particularly “Uncle Anesthesia” from 1991), success never smiled upon the Screaming Trees, aside from the brief interlude of the “Singles” soundtrack (thanks to the enticing “Nearly Lost You”).
They thus remain one of the best-kept secrets nestled among the fjords of Puget Sound.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Where the Twain Shall Meet (03:29)
Alright now
Push against the wooden table
A sliver cut and no trace of pain
I lose it's image as it blurs away
I feel the rope as it slowly frays
You never know where the twain shall meet
You never know which one stays
Keep aware of the trap that snares
Which one stays?
Statue people move like dripping water
Hit's a nail into the cracking ice
I sleep with thoughts of the coming day
I drag behind on a frozen chain
You never know where the twain shall meet
You never know which one stays
Keep aware of the trap that snares
Which one stays? Which one stays?
So I'm down
But I don't know what way I'm going
So very long
And it doesn't matter where this has gone
Slide a coin into the magic light machine
Watch a story that is never free
Takes it toll on you, energy-wise
Keeps you alone nearly all the time
You never know where the twain shall meet
You never know which one stays
Keep aware of the trap that snares
You're never gonna know which one stays
Which one stays?
Which one stays?
07 Flower Web (03:41)
Stare into the empty space here in front of us
Storms crowd your daydream scene
What will you find
We're not alone when it's the two of us
Sleep comes to haunt the hours passed behind
You put your head into the flower web
When you put your head into the flower web
And the world will change into a fog of butterflies
Within our reach and in our sky
Sorry that we couldn't find the time to cry
When you put your head into the flower web
You put your head into the flower web right now
Inside the empty space here in front of us
Storms crowd your daydream scene
What will you find
We're not alone when it's the two of us
Sleep comes to haunt the hours passed behind
When you put your head into the flower web
When you put your head into the flower web
And the world will change into a dark and withered rose
Around our head and in our sky, sky, sky
Sorry that we couldn't find the time to cry
When you put your head into the flower web
When you put your head into the flower web
When you put your head into the flower web
When you put your head into the flower web
09 Revelation Revolution (02:43)
Yeah...
Come down with me
I got a time machine
Held between my fingers
Know now your head is low
So hear me as the smoke still lingers
Restless lights creeping in
Your body splits in two again
It's easy when you're finding that
Stars don't sparkle where you're at
Tomorrow comes too late held back
It's a revelation revolution
Residing in a land that's either far away
Or near to my eyes
Life is like a deal with someone
Telling fibs that fall from blue skies
Back into the darkest cell
Light will come soon, you can't tell
Light is fading fast this time
It's a revelation revolution
Come down with and see this time machine
Held between my fingers
Confused and unused
Landing heavy as the smoke still lingers
Anxious sounds creeping in
Your soul splits in two again
It's easy when you're finding that
Stars don't sparkle where you're at
Tomorrow comes too late held back
It's a revelation revolution
It's a revelation revolution
It's a revelation revolution
Yeah, yeah
Revelation revolution
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