Could Mark Lanegan be the most sought-after guest vocalist in alt-rock? Well, judging by recent spots with UNKLE, Queens of the Stone Age and PJ Harvey (not to mention acclaimed work with Soulsavers, The Gutter Twins and Isobel Campbell), we’d say yes. No wonder it’s taken him eight years to follow up his last solo album, Bubblegum. Happily, Blues Funeral was more than worth the wait. Whether he’s wrapping his rugged baritone around darkly-melodic swamp-rock or experimenting with glimmering electronica on ‘Ode To Sad Disco’ and ‘Tiny Grain Of Truth’, our gravel-voiced troubadour’s never short of intoxicating.