- Record Label: Vagrant
- Release Date: Nov 18, 2008
- Critic score
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- By date
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The lyrics are competent, the posturing never feels too artificial, and Lanegan's gruff rasp and Campbell's airy voice blend together like a well-made cup of coffee.
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Campbell's better when she's having fun, joining her cohort on the lusty, smoky 'Come on Over (Turn Me On),' and shedding her delicate skin on 'Shotgun Blues' to become not just a Tennessee Williams vixen, but Lanegan's worthy soulmate.
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Sunday leans towards more straightforward, more folky arrangements, losing some of its punch.
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It’s essentially a continuation of "Ballad Of The Broken Seas," with Lanegan’s world-weary baritone bellow completely overpowering Campbell’s wispy waif-like purr and making her come off like a background singer on her own project.
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Again penned almost entirely by Campbell before tweaked to fit Lanegan’s whisky-guzzled grumbling, there’s a distinct element of ‘seen it, done it, milking it’ to every rootsy, airsome shanty and, although executed with exemplary grace, it seems there’s not quite enough fuel left to stoke the fires of desire once more.
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Although Devil Dirt has its rewarding moments, they're usually matters of arrangement rather than execution or personality, which means it's more about the chemistry of boy-meets-girl than about the specific boy or girl.
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In total, it sort of feels like Campbell and Lanegan want to be on the balcony and in the party at the same time, and so succeed at neither.
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Between her sweet and his sour, there should be a whole lot more shaking going on, but instead it's like they keep coming out of the dressing room with the same hat on.