Moody.
The Gutter Twins, a.k.a. Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age) and Greg Dulli (Afgan Whigs, Twilight Singers)return with a moody record that takes all their past incarnations and experiences and turns them into a glorious, dark and atmospheric experience but also produces something very distinctly theirs.
Right from the start, “Saturnalia” is a moody prospect; Lanegan’s deep bluesy vocals are creamy, yet gravelly and seem infused with experience - it gives the tracks a depth and seriousness that matches the lyrics and the melancholy mood of the melodies. Most of the tunes here have a timeless feel; darkly moving and ethereal, yet firmly grounded in the now and seeped in sadness. Occasionally they drift into familiar territory; a Neil Youngish atmosphere on ‘Who Will Lead Us?’, the Nick Cave sounding, jagged rhythms of ‘All Misery/Flowers’ and the QOTSA feel of ‘Seven Stories’; but all these reminders are no more than fleeting nods and weave themselves into the whole with ease.
Song writing duties seem to be evenly split between Lanegan and Dulli and their past musical experience gives an interesting and heady combination of 90s alt rock a la Nick Cave, Tom Waits-esque gruffness, classic folksy Americana and stoner rock psychedelic sludge. The tunes are on the whole melodic but retain a dark edginess and there is often more than a touch of a country twang; the Violin, Cello and Viola that feature on ‘Circle The Fringes’ are just a selection of the instruments employed. But this is a varied and complex album that relies on more than just Americana; ranging from the almost minimal and tuneful ‘Bête Noire’ with drums, guitar, bass et al to the electro feel of ‘Each to Each’ with Mellotron, Synths, Programming and Mandolin alongside the guitars, drums and vocals.
Fans may be interested to note that former Queens of the Stone Age collaborator Troy Van Leeuwen features on ‘All Misery/Flowers’, ‘The Body’ and ‘Who Will Lead Us?’ but this is an album that doesn’t rely on its past glories or the musician’s connections to make it work; the skills evident in the song construction, the subtlety in the minimal yet memorable melodies and the moody lyrics mean that it stands on its own as an accomplished and highly listenable record that’s best taken in one sitting, preferably after dark, so you can fully immerse yourself in the intricacies and atmospherics.