The haunted voice

As with much of his solo work, Mark Lanegan's voice is at the center of attention on Blues Funeral, the new LP by the Mark Lanegan Band. On this record, the music is good but mainly serves to show off Lanegan's awe-inspiring voice.

Lanegan, once the lead singer of 1990s grunge band Screaming Trees, possesses a gravel-road voice with a sandpaper welcome mat. Years of cigarettes, whiskey and wailing on a wide variety of projects have only helped to mold his dark howl. In the past decade, his list of collaborators has included Queens of the Stone Age, Soulsavers and former Belle and Sebastian member Isobel Campbell.

Blues Funeral continues the sound Lanegan explored on 2004's excellent Bubblegum. Both records are appropriately brooding meditations on life's defeats and conclusions, with many songs featuring restrained, distorted guitars; sturdy, functional, propulsive bass foundations; and simple keep-the-beat drumming.

The continuation of style is due in part to both records sharing musicians; including Josh Homme and Alain Johannes (Lanegan's former Queens of the Stone Age bandmates) and Greg Dulli (Lanegan's partner in The Gutter Twins).

No song on Blues Funeral reaches the cathartic heights of Bubblegum tracks such as "Hit The City" or "Methamphetamine Blues." Blues Funeral works better as a mood piece, though memorable melodies are scattered throughout the record ("Bleeding Muddy Water," "Leviathan").

"Ode To Sad Disco" may be the album's most outstanding piece, and its sound is exactly what the title implies. The track, the song most uncharacteristic of Lanegan, finds the leather-throated singer's voice floating over a downbeat yet shimmering disco stomp and reverb-drenched guitar lines.

"Stars outside the window flicker and shine/ the hollow headed morning isn't blind," Lanegan effortlessly sings on "Ode." "A mountain of nails burn in your hands/ here I give all I am."

Like his lyrics, Blues Funeral doesn't quite demand attention. The LP is a serviceable entry in the vocalist's discography, but is best left to devotees who cherish each of Lanegan's baritone utterances, regardless of the background music.

VERDICT: Blues Funeral will satisfy Mark Lanegan fans, but the album does little to evolve the singer's sound.

rhiggins@umdbk.com