And so, the ghost of the late 80s/early 90s US alternative scene continues to make its malevolent presence felt in the midway through the current decade. Mark Lanegan, having put in a turn on Isobel Campbell’s Mercury-bothering album last year, is back here assisting fellow veteran Greg Dulli (ex-Afghan Whigs) and his band on covers of Massive Attack’s ‘Live With Me’ and Fat Freddy’s Drop’s ‘Flashback’. The whole EP soothes rather than threatens, with ‘The Lure Would Prove Too Much’ in particular caressing the soul like The Verve’s ‘On Your Own’ if it was played by angels. ‘Sublime’, meanwhile, is like climbing under a heavy old blanket while the wind rattles the windows and the rain beats down outside. Broodingly beautiful.
