GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Music

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

64 A Camp
78 Akron/Family
73 Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
74 Amazing Baby
62 Tori Amos
54 The Answer
74 Anti-Flag
74 Art Brut
71 Au Revoir Simone
65 Zee Avi
70 Bachelorette
77 Bat For Lashes
68 Big Business
76 Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
67 Black Dice
57 Black Eyed Peas
74 Black Moth Super Rainbow
71 Blank Dogs
65 Booker T.
54 The Boxmasters
65 The Boy Least Likely To
74 Brakes [aka brakesbrakesbrakes]
68 British Sea Power
66 Jeff Buckley
75 Busdriver
59 Busta Rhymes
64 Cage The Elephant
82 Bill Callahan
80 Camera Obscura
68 Cam'ron
79 Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
58 Chester French
82 The Church
61 Ciara
72 Clues
69 The Coathangers
74 Jarvis Cocker
90 Leonard Cohen
70 Elvis Costello
66 Graham Coxon
76 Crippled Black Phoenix
71 The Crocodiles
69 Cryptacize
71 Crystal Antlers
56 The Crystal Method
69 Dananananaykroyd
76 Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse
71 De La Soul
77 Death Cab For Cutie
68 Deer Tick
81 Deerhunter
70 Depeche Mode
78 Dinosaur Jr.
85 Dirty Projectors
86 DJ Quik & Kurupt
77 Doves
68 Dredg
76 Bob Dylan
82 Steve Earle
70 Eels
62 El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez
58 Eminem
60 Empire Of The Sun
54 The Enemy
67 Jeremy Enigk
68 Nathan Fake
85 The Felice Brothers
79 The Field
65 Fink
60 Fischerspooner
77 Flatlanders
62 Flo Rida
64 Franz Ferdinand
77 Gallows
72 Melody Gardot
59 Ginuwine
71 Golden Silvers
61 Gomez
69 Grand Duchy
73 Great Lake Swimmers
59 Great Northern
72 Green Day
86 Grizzly Bear
75 The Handsome Family
69 Ben Harper And Relentless7
75 PJ Harvey & John Parish
66 Heaven & Hell
85 Levon Helm
74 The Hold Steady
79 Patterson Hood
75 Jon Hopkins
82 The Horrors
69 Hanne Hukkelberg
74 Ida Maria
65 Immaculate Machine
75 The Intelligence
76 Iron & Wine
79 Isis
68 It Hugs Back
88 J Dilla aka Jay Dee
61 Jadakiss
86 Japandroids
61 Joan Of Arc
84 Joe Lovano Us Five
72 John Doe & The Sadies
70 Joker's Daughter
62 Jonas Brothers
53 Mike Jones
71 The Juan Maclean
76 Junior Boys
68 Kasabian
74 Diana Krall
56 Lady Sovereign
43 Ben Lee
68 The Lemonheads
76 Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
77 Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
65 Little Boots
79 The Low Anthem
67 Jason Lytle
75 The Maccabees
76 Magik Markers
80 Major Lazer
70 Malajube
71 Manchester Orchestra
85 Manic Street Preachers
57 Marilyn Manson
66 The Mars Volta
68 Dave Matthews Band
62 Maximo Park
70 Meat Puppets
80 Method Man & Redman
77 Metric
75 Micachu & The Shapes
69 Chrisette Michele
76 Miike Snow
67 Mika Miko
75 Rhett Miller
49 Mims
72 Mr. Lif
72 Moby
78 Moderat
70 Mandy Moore
80 Mos Def
70 Bob Mould
74 Nadja
72 New York Dolls
72 Nite Jewel
67 NOFX
76 Noisettes
60 Paolo Nutini
67 Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
74 Papercuts
76 Passion Pit
74 Peaches
71 Pet Shop Boys
68 Peter Bjorn And John
82 Phoenix
76 Pink Mountaintops
63 Placebo
66 Pomegranates
64 Iggy Pop
67 Prefuse 73
81 Ramblin' Jack Elliott
76 Rancid
54 Rascal Flatts
68 Lionel Richie
77 Alasdair Roberts
73 Rick Ross
55 Asher Roth
72 Savath & Savalas
61 Polly Scattergood
65 The Shortwave Set
60 Shout Out Out Out Out
66 Silversun Pickups
85 Todd Snider
78 Sonic Youth
72 The Soundcarriers
61 The Sounds
74 Regina Spektor
63 Spinal Tap
65 Spinnerette
81 St. Vincent
59 Still Flyin'
58 Street Sweeper Social Club
87 Sunn O)))
82 Sunset Rubdown
84 Super Furry Animals
74 Richard Swift
78 Taking Back Sunday
85 Tanya Morgan
81 Otis Taylor
71 Telekinesis
70 Telepathe
80 Thee Oh Sees
79 The Thermals
74 Rob Thomas
64 Thunderheist
74 Tiga
57 Tinted Windows
72 Tortoise
82 Allen Toussaint
71 Trembling Bells
69 Two Fingers
84 UGK
68 Keith Urban
71 John Vanderslice
85 The Vaselines
74 The Veils
73 Viva Voce
63 Patrick Watson
79 White Denim
77 White Rabbits
57 The Whitest Boy Alive
74 Wilco
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
78 Wolves In The Throne Room
65 The Wooden Birds
67 Wooden Shjips
81 Yeah Yeah Yeahs
70 Pete Yorn
93 Neil Young
60 Neil Young
72 Yusuf

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Bubblegum
by Mark Lanegan Band

Mark Lanegan Band reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 85 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.4 out of 10
based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 26 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The former Screaming Trees member and Queens Of The Stone Age collaborator returns with his sixth solo album, credited to the Mark Lanegan Band. Guests include Ween, PJ Harvey, Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri and Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan.

LABEL: Beggars Banquet
RELEASE DATE: 10 August 2004
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Alternative, Rock

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Entertainment Weekly
Alt-rock blues darker and scarier than Jon Spencer or even Jack White ever imagined. [24 Dec 2004, p.66]
90
Dot Music
It will undoubtedly top some end of year lists this Christmas.
Read Full Review
90
ShakingThrough.net
It's a distillation of the singer's subtly different moods and modes, a cohesive and comprehensive work that stands as the most representative look yet at his musical persona.
Read Full Review
90
Splendid
His most compelling, not to mention complete, work to date.
Read Full Review
90
New York Magazine
Bubblegum is a blues record, a powerfully original reinterpretation of the genre.
Read Full Review
90
Playlouder
Lanegan's lyrics are poetic, well thought out and devastatingly honest, making this more a serious artistic account than some braggadocio bullshit. And then add to that the fact the music is just fantastic.
Read Full Review
88
Los Angeles Times
An album that seethes and rocks with real energy and depth. [22 Aug 2004]
Read Full Review
88
Filter
It takes willpower and endurance to swim down these dark, dimly lit streams of misery. Even as a listener. [#11, p.98]
83
Spin
Gruff stuff... A few rockers lighten the load, but not by much. [Sep 2004, p.120]
80
Mojo
It's the feeling of almost imperceptible menace that makes Bubblegum so unsettling. [Aug 2004, p.84]
80
Stylus Magazine
It is, to be frank, one of the most remarkable and forward-looking rock albums that you will hear all year, and testament to Lanegan’s ability to take desolate lyrics and fashion beautiful, redemptive tunes around them.
Read Full Review
80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
While the guests push and pull Lanegan in different directions, Bubblegum's songs never lose him in the translation.
Read Full Review
80
Uncut
It's a departure from previous Lanegan solo LPs... This time, Lanegan is looser, open to both experimentation and, once more, full-on rock. [Sep 2004, p.96]
80
All Music Guide
The dank emotional caverns of Bubblegum offer some territory well worth exploring for the strong-willed.
Read Full Review
80
New Musical Express
A record filled with such emotional scope and range that it's tailor-made to showcase Lanegan's world weary roar. [24 Jul 2004, p.47]
80
Blender
Lanegan has finally produced his long-threatened masterpiece. [Oct 2004, p.125]
80
The Guardian
It is hardly user-friendly, but Bubblegum is too good an album to languish in the margins. There is something thrilling in its unpredictable lurches between darkness and light, noise and melody. In every sense, Bubblegum is a staggering record.
Read Full Review
80
Q Magazine
Shows [Lanegan] to be more alive and more vital than ever. [Sep 2004, p.121]
80
Delusions of Adequacy
In the end, the album’s rather limited scope is justified by the masterful detail with which it is rendered, granting the listener limited entry to a place most of us wouldn’t want to stay long.
Read Full Review
73
cokemachineglow
If you like blues-oriented rock from a man who can pour out his soul like Robert Pollard's bartender pours Bud Lite, then, by all means, give Bubblegum a try.
Read Full Review
72
Pitchfork
The seamy din generated by this revolving ensemble provides a well-matched backdrop for the relentless parade of petty violence, drug deals gone sour, and squalid love affairs portrayed in these songs.
Read Full Review
70
PopMatters
A tad more abrasive and rocking than the late-night blooze of Whiskey For the Holy Ghost and Scraps at Midnight, Bubblegum should appeal to fans of great songwriting.
Read Full Review
60
Alternative Press
It's a deathfest of sound and fury, quietly melancholy and fiercely apocalyptic. But it's a tale that grows wearier with every listen. [Sep 2004, p.122]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Hex G. gave it a9:
Stunning album, definatley his best. "Strange Religion" and "Wedding Dress" are stand-out tracks for me

moschops gave it a9:
I must admit to having been pretty unaware of Mark Lanegan before buying this, I knew he'd done a few songs with Queens Of The Stone Age but that was it. I only really bought this because PJ Harvey was on it, but was blown awayby how good it is. Bubblegum ended up being one of my albums of the year.

danel gave it a10:
This album like all the other Lanegan albums, is a masterpiece. Lanegan is a genius for sure.

brent gave it a10:
Eeerie, irrestible. Discovered him recently. Never would connect him to the singer of Screaming Tree's I Nearly Lost You. Coulda shaved 2-3 songs off and this would be a cult masterpiece. Why the 10?: Stripped down sound/PJ Harvey doing ten times what Isobel Campbell could do in 2 songs/that voice/that writing/that insight. Lanegan is CONSTANTLY UNFAIRLY compared to Waits. Waits is a great musician/writer but he keeps a distance from his creations. That being said, Waits is powerful enough to make you cry or wistful. It's a gift. Lanegan's creations are ugly and comfortable. Places and feelings and lives and moments lived that you'd rather not discuss. Emphatic musicians on one's albums are half the battle. A very intuitive group of friends clanking away earnest and moody depending on song. I've never heard so realized and moving a self-testament in so long. And PJ Harvey on only 2 cuts makes you greedy for more. She understands this bastard and for as many duets Lanegan and Harvey have done with others, they really click together. If you've never been the protagonist in "100 Days" or "Strange Religion" no worries. It helps, but I really like this Lanegan guy, will be checking out his solo albums if I ever burn out on this CD...a truly unique and powerful American artist.

Hein gave it a10:
almost the quality of Mister Tom Waits

Dave M gave it a10:
Arcade Who?, Green Day What? Modest Mouse Why? Kayne??? Biggest collective critical whiff in recent history was this album only landing on a few end of year top ten polls. Just the Ballads alone make this Hands down best album of 2004. Add Hit the City, Head, Sideways in Reverse. A Brilliant, brilliant album.

Nathan Z gave it a10:
this is the album SETI should be transmitting to the stars. Nothing compares. When mark lanegan passes away, he will have Elvis on his left, and McCartney on his right...... jamming on the other side.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use