Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral

NICK WARD - © Fairfax NZ News

The mournful tones of the former Screaming Trees frontman and occasional Queens of the Stone Age contributor are a perfect fit for the blues, but his recent work with Soulsavers and UNKLE has had an influence.

Kathleen Edwards: Voyageur

NICK WARD - © Fairfax NZ News

In her fourth album, this Canadian songstress sets off on a trek across familiar ground - disquiet and dissatisfaction on the relationship front.

Little Roy: Battle for Seattle

NICK WARD - © Fairfax NZ News

We grungeheads are mellowing a bit with age, so why not enjoy reggae versions of Nirvana songs?

Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas

NICK WARD - © Fairfax NZ News

(Columbia) Cohen's devoted army of fans have waited nearly eight years for him to deliver something new, but they can be well satisfied with this. His ideas for a song may be old (or consistent), but his lyrical blend of the sacred and the sensual is as strong as ever, and his quiet, husky dignity continues to exert a strange attraction. He begins by offering a wry assessment of himself as "a sage, a man of vision" but also "a lazy bastard living in a suit" in Going Home, and praying that love will wait in Amen. His religious musings continue in Show Me the Place and the beautiful "penitential hymn" Come Healing. A rhythm section arrives to see him infected by a lover in Darkness, and Cohen carries on picking relationships to pieces in Anyhow and Dissatisfied. As usual, some will find it monotonous and baffling, while others will lap up every loving growl. I consider myself appreciative rather than enthusiastic, but this is one elderly gentleman who hasn't lost his spark. Best tracks: Darkness, Come Healing.