I must admit that I was shocked to hear of this collaboration, being familiar with Mark Lanegan and his work in Screaming Trees, Mad Season, Queens of the Stone Age and as a solo artist. A great deal of his material is dark, harrowing, and tends to exemplify the dirty, gravel cut images that the sound of his voice so vividly evokes. On the other hand, I only knew a little bit regarding the work of Isobel Campbell, the former member of the vaunted Belle and Sebastian who has gone on to a successful UK solo career. But, knowing where she comes from in her past musical career and knowing Lanegan's musical background, this seemed to be an overly odd pairing. It intrigued me nonetheless. Lanegan's work is usually exemplary and only increased my curiosity in the record. I procured a pre-release of this record by luck and happenstance and was subsequently mystified by what I heard.
The first song on Ballad of the Broken Sea, "Deus Ibi Est", is driven by a thumping beat, an acoustic guitar, and a disturbing spoken word like vocal by Lanegan's whiskey soaked voice. When Isobel's ethereal vocal part comes in, it sounds as though she is trying to soothe all of his troubles. I did not like the song at first, but, upon repeated listenings, I realized how much that I actually enjoyed the track. Isobel dominates the second song, " Black Mountain". This one has a very Irish folk sound to it and is very pretty sounding. "The False Husband" is a return to the juxtaposed vocals between the collaborators. Some of the music has a stark, desolate mood that has a similar feel to the tone on the last Earth album. This is contrasted by lush string and horn arrangements. It works well. "Revolver" is an incredibly hypnotic sounding song. "Ramblin' Man" is my favorite song on the album. The track reminds me a great deal of something that the San Diego based band Black Heart Procession would compose. The rolling Lanegan vocal melody along with the whispered backing vocals by Campbell sound great together while the music has an almost sound effect quality to it. It's a great song. "Honey Child What Can I Do?" is a pop song, straight up and unadulterated. It's odd to hear, but I would take it over what is played on the radio now in a heart beat. "The Circus is Leaving Town" is the last song on Ballad of the Broken Sea. Listening to the lyrics makes it an obvious track for the closer. The title just about describes the song perfectly. It sounds like a leaving song would. I keep waiting for it to really break into a more upbeat almost rock feel, but it never quite comes through in that respect. It maintains its mellow mood for the duration.
Being a fan of Mark Lanegan prior to hearing this record, I definitely listened to it from that perspective. That being said, it works for him and is not a radical departure for what he does. It is a surprising album though because of the way that Isobel Campbell's fingerprint could absolutely be heard. "Ramblin' Man", " Black Mountain", "and "Deus Ibi Est" keep me coming back to the album for repeated listens. It's a good record. Fans of Mark Lanegan might enjoy this more than those acquainted with Campbell because of the distinctiveness of his voice, but that might be ignorance on my part.
