Standard Black 180g Vinyl 2LP Version

Following the success of 2019's Somebody's Knocking LP, the prolific Mark Lanegan is back with yet another new solo album entitled Straight Songs Of Sorrow. The record, which is closely aligned to his forthcoming memoir, Sing Backwards And Weep, features guest appearances from Greg Dulli, Warren Ellis, John Paul Jones, Ed Harcourt and more.

When considering any great work of art, it's natural to wonder what might have inspired it: ‘the story behind the song'. Straight Songs Of Sorrow flips that equation. Here are 15 songs inspired by a story: his life story, as documented by his own hand in his new memoir. The book is a brutal, nerve-shredding read, thanks to Lanegan's unsparing candor in recounting a journey from troubled youth in eastern Washington, through his drug-stained existence amid the '90s Seattle rock scene, to an unlikely salvation at the dawn of the 21st century. There's death and tragedy, yet also humor and hope, thanks to the tenacity which impels its host, even at his lowest moments.

Straight Songs Of Sorrow combines musical trace elements from early Mark Lanegan albums with the synthesized constructs of later work. The album feels both definitive and unique, a culmination of its creator's arc yet also indicative of the energy that drives him onto future horizons.