This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If you only know Mark Lanegan as a former member of Screaming Trees and current singer for Queens Of The Stone Age, you’re not getting the whole picture.
For a more personal introduction, you need to get acquainted with his solo albums, which are usually less heavy musically — but much heavier emotionally — than his collaborative projects. His new EP Here Comes That Weird Chill is no exception. This 26-minute disc — a preview of his forthcoming sixth album Bubblegum — delivers eight fuzzy-headed, dark-hearted, drug-fuelled tracks that encompass Waitsian clank-blues (Methamphetamine Blues), gritty stoner laments (Message to Mine), Cohenesque poet-balladry (Wish You Well) and even Beefhearty blubber ’n’ smoke (a cover of Clear Spot and the original Skeletal History), all delivered in Lanegan’s world-weary, rumbling growl. Pick it up and say hello to the real dark Mark.
