#bubblegum xx

[krispyweiss]

Mark Lanegan’s Vaults Begin to Open

- Bubblegum XX to be “the beginning of a small series of plans” for 2024

More than two years after Mark Lanegan’s death, his vaults are opening.

Lanegan’s heirs said they found “a wealth of astonishing material” resulting in “a really special collection of recordings” that’ll be released Aug. 23 as Bubblegum XX.

The expanded 2004 album marks “the beginning of a small series of plans we have for this year,” said a statement on Lanegan’s still-active social media pages.

“Your kind words and love for Mark have been the source of much comfort in recent times, and we’re excited to be able to share with you previously unreleased material as a thank you,” it read.

The 20th-anniversary release of Bubblegum will include remasters of the original LP, its companion EP, Here Comes that Weird Chill, and B-sides; previously unreleased songs, at least one of which features Beck; and a collection of “beautiful” demos.

7/9/24

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Mark Lanegan - “Heard a Train”

Mark Lanegan’s vaults pop open with the release of “Heard a Train.”

Bookended with languid intro and outro, the song proper is a proper grinder more indicative of his Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age material and is produced by Master of Reality Chris Goss.

Lanegan is typically down on himself as he growls:

Somebody said that they missed me/but who that was I couldn’t say/they called it a day when I left already

“Heard a Train” is one of 12 previously unreleased songs - and 40 overall - that’ll appear on Bubblgum XX, which arrives Aug. 23. Best of all, it suggests Lanegan left some solid, undiscovered, music behind.

Grade card: Mark Lanegan - “Heard a Train” - B+

8/7/24

[krispyweiss]

Album Review: Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum XX

Released in 2004, Bubblegum was a transitory album for Mark Lanegan as he moved away from folk of his initial solo LPs, refocused on the rock of his Screaming Trees years and hinted at the electronica that would mark his later work.

Remastered, expanded and released in 2024, Bubblegum XX spotlights this with elements of all three styles bound together by Lanegan’s timeless, sandpaper-scraping baritone and dark lyrics about drug use, kicking (purposely and not so) and narrow scrapes with death that should’ve turned out differently. Fleshed out as it is, the new Bubblegum is like pouring Lanegan’s solo career in a blender, resulting in a mix of the three prongs of his vast, eclectic solo career in one collection.

The reissue includes the previously tough-to-find Here Comes that Weird Chill collection of rarities, alongside the country rock of “Union Tombstone,” with Beck on the after-the-fact vocals and harmonica Lanegan imagined during his lifetime, and six acoustic recordings captured in hotel rooms with Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen.

These are revelatory - Lanegan in his purest form singing Johnny Cash’s “You Wild Colorado;” demoing “Revolver,” which he eventually recorded with Isobel Campbell; and making alternate versions of “Like Little Willie John” and “Strange Religion,” with alternate titles “Willie John” and “Pure Religion,” respectively.

Bubblegum XX represents the first posthumous release from the singer, who died in 2022. If these previously vaulted recordings are any indication of what remains, Lanegan fans have much to anticipate in the years to come.

Grade card: Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum XX - B+

11/19/24