Gargoyle (album)

Gargoyle
Studio album by
Mark Lanegan Band
ReleasedApril 28, 2017 (2017-04-28)
Length41:11
LabelHeavenly Recordings
ProducerAlain Johannes
Mark Lanegan Band chronology
Houston Publishing Demos 2002
(2015) 		Gargoyle
(2017) 		Somebody's Knocking
(2019)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[1]
Metacritic83/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Clash7/10[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Independent[6]
Mojo[7]
The Observer[8]
Pitchfork6.3/10[9]
Q[10]
Record Collector[11]
Uncut8/10[12]

Gargoyle is the tenth studio album by American singer Mark Lanegan (credited to "Mark Lanegan Band"). It was released in April 2017 on Heavenly Recordings. It was produced by Lanegan's long-time collaborator Alain Johannes. Roughly half of the music on the record was written by UK-based Rob Marshall through e-mail exchanges with Lanegan, who would write lyrics subsequently.[13]

While retaining much of the tenebrous imagery of previous records, Gargoyle arguably marks a step toward somewhat a lighter sound, as noted by reviewer Kieron Tyler: "Everything expected is present and correct: the bottom-of-the-boots voice; lugubrious yet affecting melodies; an ominous mood; lyrics dwelling on life’s dark corners. Even so, Gargoyle is an uplifting album, one allowing the sun to peak from behind a cloud."[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Lanegan, Alain Johannes and Rob Marshall except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Death's Head Tattoo"4:20
2."Nocturne" (Lanegan, Marshall)4:22
3."Blue Blue Sea" (Johannes, Lanegan)3:24
4."Beehive" (Lanegan, Marshall)3:49
5."Sister" (Johannes, Lanegan)5:03
6."Emperor" (Johannes, Lanegan)3:36
7."Goodbye to Beauty" (Lanegan, Marshall)3:15
8."Drunk on Destruction" (Lanegan, Marshall)3:25
9."First Day of Winter" (Johannes, Lanegan)3:27
10."Old Swan" (Lanegan, Marshall)6:30

Personnel

  • Mark Lanegan – vocals (1–10)
  • Alain Johannes – verb guitar (1), bass (1,6,9), Prophet 5 (1,2,3,5,9), harmonium (2,3), Moog (2,3), Mellotron (2,3,5,9), B-3 (5,6), tremolo guitar (5,9), shaman drum (5), guitar (6), Farfisa (6), harpsichord (6), percussion (6), E-Bow (9), backing vocals (9), drum programming (9)
  • Rob Marshall – bass (1,2,4,10), guitar (1,2,4,8,10), synthesizer (1,10), drum programming (1,4,8,10), drum loops (2,8), acoustic guitar (7), electric guitar (7), drums (7), piano (7), horns (10)
  • Greg Dulli – backing vocals (1), acoustic guitar (4), Moog (4)
  • Duke Garwood – horns (5), guitar (5)
  • Martyn LeNoble – bass (2,4,7,8), melody bass (2)
  • Frederic Lyenn Jacques – bass (5)
  • Jean-Philippe de Gheest – drums (5)
  • Jack Irons – drums (2,4,6,8)
  • Aldo Struyf – piano (2,3), ARP (2,3,9), percussion (2,3,9)
  • Shelley Brien – backing vocals (3,5)
  • Josh Homme – backing vocals (6)

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 71
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 8
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 127
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] 36
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[19] 63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 35

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
Gigwise Top 51 Albums
2017
24
[21]
PopMatters Top 60 Albums
2017
36
[22]

References

  1. ^ "Gargoyle by Mark Lanegan Band reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  2. ^ "Reviews and Tracks for Gargoyle by Mark Lanegan Band". Metacritic. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  3. ^ Deming, Mark. "Gargoyle – Mark Lanegan Band / Mark Lanegan". AllMusic. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Gray, Josh (May 9, 2017). "Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle". Clash. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Simpson, Dave (April 27, 2017). "Mark Lanegan Band: Gargoyle review – mournful grandeur with hints of black humour". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  6. ^ Gill, Andy (April 19, 2017). "Album reviews: Ray Davies, BNQT, Robyn Hitchcock, Mark Lanegan Band and more". The Independent. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  7. ^ "Mark Lanegan Band: Gargoyle". Mojo (282): 89. May 2017.
  8. ^ Mongredien, Phil (April 30, 2017). "Mark Lanegan Band: Gargoyle review – a career high". The Observer. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  9. ^ Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (May 1, 2017). "Mark Lanegan Band: Gargoyle". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  10. ^ Fyfe, Andy (June 2017). "Mark Lanegan Band: Gargoyle". Q (372): 109.
  11. ^ Hamnett, Alun (May 2017). "Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle". Record Collector (466). Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  12. ^ Lewis, John (May 2017). "Mark Lanegan Band: Gargoyle". Uncut (240): 24.
  13. ^ "A Life Saved | an interview with Mark Lanegan".
  14. ^ "CD: Mark Lanegan Band - Gargoyle | reviews, news & interviews | the Arts Desk".
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  19. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  21. ^ "Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2017". Gigwise.com. December 8, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  22. ^ "The 60 Best Albums of 2017". Popmatters.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.