Scraps at Midnight

Throughout his solo career, Mark Lanegan has tapped into a personal blues filled with dark shadows. His burly growl of a voice turns everything he sings into a menacing promise. *Scraps at Midnight* is his third solo album, and in the spirit of his previous release (the excellent *Whiskey for the Holy Ghost* from several years before), it’s filled with a sense of pain and dread. \"Hospital Roll Call\" starts as a death-defying surf/spaghetti western instrumental, suggesting Lanegan as the last man standing in his battle with drug addiction. \"Hotel\" admits \"everything inside is dead\" as an acoustic guitar strums minor chords and an electric guitar illustrates an unsettling aura. \"Bell Black Ocean\" adds lonesome pianos and electric guitars. \"Last One in the World\" is a memorial to a fallen friend (Kurt Cobain?). Collaborating with longtime musical foil Mike Johnson, Lanegan zeroes in on a simple but effective attack that few singers have been able to use effectively. It’s blues music in spirit but not in form. Lanegan searches for an emotional bond while carefully avoiding 12-bar blues clichés.

With the Screaming Trees, Mark Lanegan is part of a dysfunctional family that can only pull its act together once in a while.