We burn for you, Dulli

Five highly-anticipated years later, the Afghan Whigs are back and blowing out speakers with How Do You Burn? As they call upon some of the band’s deepest, darkest emotions to date, a well-placed barre chord remains the unearthly tether to this mortal coil. Because How Do You Burn? is nothing short of a supernatural triumph and it’s impossible to listen to their latest release and not lose track of time and space.

The Afghan Whigs’ latest musical paragon rocks with a hauntingly melodic overture; an array of sounds so psychedelic, so raw, that there’s no choice but to sit back and succumb to the next forty minutes, the telepathic deep-dive into the genius brain of singer/songwriter Greg Dulli.

While the Afghan Whigs remained with infamous Sub Pop records from 1990 until the release of their penultimate album In Spades in 2017 (with a stint at Elektra and Columbia), they’ve since switched gears, releasing their long-awaited album How Do You Burn? with Royal Cream/BMG.

When the pandemic rocked the world, Dulli carved out ideas for his latest masterpiece. “I’ll Make You See God” tears the post-grunge movement asunder, proving that the Afghan Whigs simply cannot be stopped. When Sub Pop signed Nirvana back in ’89, the grunge impetus shoved the musical world forward, one power chord at a time. And the Afghan Whigs are burning it up, Dulli’s lyrics burrowing into the hearts and minds of fans everywhere.

Even more chillingly, the late Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan named the album, his presence felt throughout How Do You Burn? We hear his iconic vocals on “Jyja” and “Take Me There” and know he’s still with Dulli, seeing the project through to fruition.

How Do You Burn? transcends through Dulli’s raw, uninhibited emotion, the heavy guitars of “I’ll Make You See God” a stark contrast to “Domino and Jimmy” featuring Marcy Mays, former lead singer of Scrawl. The atmospheric, poignant track was written with Mays’ vocals in mind, some speculating as a sequel to “My Curse” from the album Gentlemen in ’93 in which Mays also took the lead.

While “My Curse” summons the lament of a woman destined for pain, the object of her affection wielding the dagger, “Domino and Jimmy” reunites the lovers in an evocative, stirring way. Mays opens up, Dulli repenting with the chilling realization that “I am your sadness, baby/Your light of day/Like a living ghost/You get lost inside my head”.

The ethos of the album is akin to Dulli’s personal diary, should he give the world a coveted glimpse. “Concealer” is a perfect paradigm, the lyrics a reminder that Dulli was, is, and always will be in control, opening with “I’m gonna take you on a mystery ride” and fading into the black abyss with the palpable overtone and realization that “You are the echo of my mind.”

Just when we think How Do You Burn? has no stops left to pull, “In Flames” rocks flannel-clad fans to their post-grunge core. While its riff has a bluesy, pop-synth inception, the keyboard slow-walking its way into the limelight, it remains reminiscent of the paramount grunge/alt-rock sound that birthed the Afghan Whigs, albeit in a more subdued way. “I’m breathing in ashes in so many ways/Until then/In flames.” We’re reminded that Dulli is constantly reinventing a wheel that was never broken. His sound titillates, excites and elicits a response so primal, so carnal, so real, that it’s impossible to ignore.