Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Ballad of the Broken Seas

This is not a combination that should have worked - Isobel Campbell, the ethereal-voiced cellist who used to be in Belle & Sebastian and Mark Lanegan, formerly of Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age with his years of hard living and his deep, lived-in voice. But the two of these songwriters have managed to craft a beautiful and emotional record which uses the contrasts in their voices to great effect, weaving them into the stories within the songs. The album is compelling and it is striking in its effect. At times folky, at times country & western and at others almost gothic, these are tales of broken love, drink, despair and hope and this record certainly deserved its nomination for the Mercury as it is epic and thoughtful and unusual.