On their new duo album, "Ballad of the Broken Seas," Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan weave together strands of disparate but complementary influences: Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's great duets (which Campbell had already toyed with as a member of Belle and Sebastian), Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western soundtracks, Nick Cave's sadistically pretty murder ballads, and a dash of Scott Walker's dashing romanticism. The result is darkly, deliciously melodramatic, and if it doesn't exactly transcend its influences, it's still an immensely enjoyable listen. It's a special treat to hear Lanegan (once the lead singer of the grunge band Screaming Trees) bring his exceptional vocal talents to bear on this gothic, doomful terrain, which he does with dignity and gravity.
-- T.B.
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