Mark Lanegan's new album "Bubblegum"...

One of the first lines of the album sets the tone: "They've left you to this/To janitor the emptiness".....Wonderfully bleak as always, but the hard driving blues balances out his usual spareness...great guest spots from PJ Harvey and QOTSA as well

there's an album website: http://www.beggars.com/us/marklanegan/2004/bubblegum/

This album deserves better than such an aborted thread

Saw him and his band live yesterday and it was pretty great. Virtually no interaction with the audience, spotlights on each member except the man himself. Like someone standing in an empty alley at dawn. The beginning was a bit 'rusty', later on the band really was spot-on, both on the quiet and the heavier songs. Didn't really like the drummer though, he was ok on the slow stuff but when the tempo went up he just plodded along where songs like "Come to me" would benefit so much from a little bit more creative drumming...
The vocals of the girl (name?) that accompanied him on duets as well as backing vocals were barely audible, unfortunately. The guitarists were great, their sound reminding me a bit of the way the guitar sounds on "Maggot Brain": a very 'open' sound that feels like it embraces you. Highlights of the evening were "One Way Street", "Like Little Willie John", "One Hundred Days", "Skeletal History" and "Resurrection Song".

Unfortunately, he/they didn't feel like playing the second encore that was present on the setlist...