Having previously been the frontman of The Screaming Trees and a regular collaborator with Queens Of The Stone Age, we reckon he’ll have some unique and gnarly stories to tell…
Not only does Mark Lanegan have a memoir on the horizon, he’s also recorded a brand new studio album to accompany it.
The 15 new tracks are inspired by his own story, saying in a press release: “Writing the book, I didn’t get catharsis. All I got was a Pandora’s box full of pain and misery. I went way in, and remembered shit I’d put away 20 years ago. But I started writing these songs the minute I was done, and I realised there was a depth of emotion because they were all linked to memories from this book. It was a relief to suddenly go back to music. Then I realised that was the gift of the book: these songs. I’m really proud of this record.”
Sing Backwards And Weep, Lanegan’s memoir, follows his journey from troubled youth, to his drug-strained experience of the ’90s Seattle rock scene, to his revival in the 21st century. The new album, Straight Songs Of Sorrow, combines trace elements from his earlier rock works with his recognisable modern electronica and includes guest appearances from; Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli (Lanegan’s former partner in the Gutter Twins), the Bad Seeds’ Warren Ellis, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, and the singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt.
Straight Songs Of Sorrow will be available from 5 May and Sing Backwards And Weep will be out 28 March.