Soulsavers “Broken” Review
Sometimes band names are intentionally funny, sometimes they’re offensive, and sometimes they’re gloriously irrelevant and mean nothing more than whatever they mean to any person at any given time. While this may be the case for the U.K band Soulsavers, I want to believe that the name digs a little deeper, especially when considering their last two albums where they have been joined by one of the best vocalists in recent memory: Mark Lanegan.
Since those releases the band has seemed hell bent on making music that could wake up even the darkest soul. After the haunting instrumental “The Seventh Proof” that opens the album, producer/DJ duo Rich Machin and Ian Glover are joined by a diverse group of singers that add their vocals to their musical canvas. As with Soulsaver’s sophomore album, It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s the Way You Land , the duo is joined by Lanegan on a majority of the tracks, in addition to an all-star cast which is scattered throughout the record. Lanegan’s massive sounding whiskey and cigarette stained voice meshes perfectly with the hypnotic backing tracks the duo lays down. Like on his supremely underrated solo work, Lanegan conjures up dark spirits and lost innocence with his baritone growl, with his vocal work even surpassing his amazing singing on the bands first collaboration.
Following the instrumental introduction Soulsavers and Lanegan start in with the bombastic “Death Bells” and the darkly funky “Unbalanced Pieces,” each of which find the musicians joined by an additional vocalist: Gibby Haynes on “Death Bells” and Mike Patton on “Unbalanced Pieces.” Things slow down with a cover of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s “You Will Miss Me When I Burn,” which seems like it was tailor made for Lanegan’s broken-hearted moans.
The group continues by stretching out to epic lengths with songs like “All the Way Down,” “Rolling Sky,” “Shadows Fall,” and the Gene Clark-penned “Some Misunderstanding,” which take the album’s already simmering undertones and stretches them out to even greater proportions. The songs, the longest of which is the nearly eight minute long “Some Misunderstanding,” prove how great a balance there is on the album between the vocals and music, as at no time do the tracks seem to lose their energy or relevance. “Can’t Catch the Train” and “Pharaoh’s Chariot” find the group slowing down the tempo before they add in an interesting twist to end the album. “Pharaoh’s Chariot” finds Lanegan joined by Jason Pierce (aka J. Spaceman), who may be one of the few to truly parallel his dark and depressing art.
After hearing Lanegan’s stunning voice piercing through the hazy atmospheric tracks for the first three quarters of the album, a surprise comes near the end in the angel-like voice of the relatively obscure singer Rosa Agostino. Singing under the nom de plume of Red Ghost, she joins Lanegan on “You Will Miss Me When I Burn” and “Rolling Sky” earlier in the record, but she gets her first solo turns on two of the last songs on the album, “Praying Ground” and “By My Side.” Her vocals are about as fragile and innocent as Lanegan’s are hardened and sinister. Having her delicate vocals close things out serves as something of a cleansing after the dark nature which resonates throughout much of the album.
From start to finish Broken is a great success. The various guests, with specific emphasis on the great vocal contributions of Red Ghost, supply added layers of intrigue to the album and help propel it to the great peak that it reaches. In the end however, it is Lanegan’s voice combined with the ethereal sound textures laid down by the Soulsavers team which makes for one of the most dramatic and arresting collaborations of the decade.
Also: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan “Sunday At Devil Dirt” Review
