1 	The Gravedigger's Song 	3:43
2 	Bleeding Muddy Water 	6:17
3 	Gray Goes Black 	4:10
4 	St Louis Elegy 	4:33
5 	Riot In My House 	3:53
6 	Ode To Sad Disco 	6:23
7 	Phantasmagoria Blues 	3:15
8 	Quiver Syndrome 	4:03
9 	Harborview Hospital 	4:31
10 	Leviathan 	4:22
11 	Deep Black Vanishing Train 	3:06
12 	Tiny Grain Of Truth 	7:07

Drums – Jack Irons
Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals, Percussion, Mixed By, Producer – Alain Johannes
Vocals, Written-By – Mark Lanegan 
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Guitar – David Catching, Duke Garwood (2, 11, 12)
Guitar – David Rosser (3, 6)
Guitar – Joshua Homme (5)
Bass – Martyn Lenoble (7, 9)
Guitar, Vocals [Singing] – Chris Goss (10)
Keyboards – Aldo Struyf (8, 9)
Guitar, Vocals – Chris Goss (10)
Vocals – Shelley Brien (8)

Those who liked the moodier, more atmospheric material on the last Mark Lanegan Band offering, 2004's Bubblegum, will find much to enjoy on Blues Funeral -- an album that has little to do with blues as a musical form. Lanegan has been a busy man since Bubblegum. In the nearly eight ensuing years, he's issued three records with Isobel Campbell, joined Greg Dulli in the Gutter Twins, guested on albums by the Twilight Singers and UNKLE, and was the lead vocalist on most of the last two Soulsavers offerings. Produced by Eleven guitarist Alain Johannes (who also fulfills that role here as well as playing bass, keyboards, and percussion), Blues Funeral finds Lanegan in a musically ambitious place. His voice is deeper, smokier, but more restrained, even on the few straight-up rockers. The grain in his voice is more pronounced, offering a sense of coiled menace on each track, one that is ready at all points to explode the musical confines these songs erect, and to overwhelm them all. To his credit, he never does. While the album is sequenced seamlessly, with varying textures and dynamics, there are standouts. Of the two tracks that feature the mysterious guitarist Duke Garwood, "Bleeding Muddy Water" is a mournful, midtempo dirge. Dulli's guest spot on backing vocals on the Ennio Morricone-inspired spaghetti westernism of "St Louis Elegy" is beautifully rendered; Joshua Homme lends his guitar to the over-the-rails rock in "Riot in My House." Electronics also have a prominent place on Blues Funeral -- and not merely as atmospheric add-ons: "Ode to Sad Disco," melds a four-on-the-floor drum loop to high lonesome guitars as Lanegan offers a drifting, surreal, quasi-mystical narrative worthy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. "Harborview Hospital"'s meld of keyboards and guitars touch on U2's Joshua Tree period and late-'80s New Order. Weird as that reads, if anything, these expansive retro sonics provide Lanegan's raspy baritone a foil, with added texture that lends not only a sense of beauty, but walks out the tension between elegiac lyric and harmonic lyricism. "Leviathan" is the only thing that really approaches blues here, though it's via a 21st century approximation of Led Zeppelin's darker, airier moments on Physical Graffiti. Blues Funeral, while an adventurous, strident, and complex album, will likely polarize longstanding Lanegan fans; but if they can't follow him into this new terrain, it's their problem. ---Thom Jurek, AllMusic Review

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01 – The Cherry Tree Carol
02 – Down In Yon Forest
03 – O Holy Night
04 – We Three Kings
05 – Coventry Carol
06 – Burn The Flames

Christmas records are usually a good chance for artists to drain some of their listeners' money on the season. The few, classic albums, however, remain mostly the same (such as Elvis' Christmas Album, Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas, Nat King Cole's Magic Of Christmas or even Phil Spector's offering) and along with a couple of more recent ones, are listened to this very day, a lot of people ignoring or dismissing a large portion of the holiday themed efforts out there.

Released with next to no publicity, Mark Lanegan's latest EP, Dark Mark Does Christmas, marks his first tenure into the Christmas carols realm. Of all the artists, he surely is one who can give a different feel to these songs. While his take won't become a Christmas classic any time soon, Lanegan successfully takes some of the well known tunes and twists them into a dark, melancholic affair. As imagined, spending the holidays with Mr. Lanegan will definitely end up really somber and nostalgic, no matter how hard he'd try to joyfully praise Jesus' birth.

Choosing a lo-fi production instead of a proper studio recording, Dark Mark Does Christmas evokes a more personal atmosphere through its unprocessed sound and a vintage feel, resembling a pick-up playing a really old vinyl. For the first half of the EP, Mark uses higher tuned instruments such as the banjo on the beautiful "The Cherry Tree Carol" or the ukulele, heard on "Down In The Yon Forest", thus adopting a higher tone too. It's great to see his wide vocal range still intact at his age, especially singing all those high notes on the lovely "O Holy Night".

A great aspect is his vocals, echoed this time, giving a dreamy tone on the first three tracks. On the opposite, his trademark gravelly voice bears a haunting beauty rarely matched by other artists. This way, the a cappella "Coventry Carol" and the acoustic guitar assisted "We Three Kings" turn into what's arguably the darkest take on these carols. Also, included on Dark Mark Does Christmas is the grim "Burn The Flames", originally recorded by Roky Erickson, further attesting Lanegan's gift by giving another dimension to an already sinister song.

So, for those who enjoy listening to Christmas records and even those who shun the whole idea of Christmas, Mark Lanegan's Dark Mark Does Christmas is a short, interesting at least release, that's worth purchasing just for the dark, twisted touch given on the tunes here. It would have been even better if Lanegan recorded an album's worth of carols to have an even bigger impact on the listener. Nevertheless, the EP offers something different from the usual for the season, regardless of its length. Unfortunately, Dark Mark Does Christmas is available so far only on his live tour merch stand, so go see him perform and get this. Hopefully, Lanegan will give this a proper release in the near future. --- Raul Stanciu, sputnikmusic.com

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