Kickass albums you forgot to buy... Campbell/Lanegan

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas

Another record that caught me by surprise is the new collaboration between Isobel Campbell (formerly with Belle & Sebastian) and Mark Lanegan (former lead singer of Screaming Trees). I've been a fan of Lanegan's for a long time - he's recorded several solo albums since his Screaming Trees days - but what's cool about this project is how much it reflects Campbell's sensibility and vision. In a refreshing role reversal, this record appears to be Campbell's baby (as the primary songwriter and producer) rather than just another case of "grungy dude recruits chick singer." But Lanegan has always had a broader reach than his work with Screaming Trees (or his association with Queens of the Stone Age) would indicate. Whether it's Campbell and Lanegan's brilliant take on Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man" (the most recognizable "Lanegan moment" on the record) or the unhinged loveliness of the waltz "(Do You Wanna) Come Walk With Me?", Ballad of the Broken Seas defies easy categorization and sheds new light on both artists.

You can order Ballad of the Broken Seas at Amazon here.