Daniel Lanois — Here Is What Is

Here Is What Is isn't an album as much as a routine check-up on what Lanois' been up to. The last we heard from him, ignoring the undistinguished outtakes and instrumental albums of 2005, was five years ago with the excellent Shine. Methinks Lanois is due for a comeback. Unfortunately, it won't be the soundtrack to the equally titled and equally bland 2007 documentary. The musical talent, respect and admiration is still there, and Lanois' reverent, open atmosphere remains intact, but the songs feel too much like a series of personal challenges and indulgences, as if an hour before recording "This May Be the Last Time" Lanois was sitting around wondering what he'd sound like if he was a southern bluesmen (answer: like Tom Waits on downers). There are gems, such as the heart-stopping "Sacred And Secular," but between the pointless jams and soundbites from conversations with Brian Eno, those diamonds are buried deep in the rough.

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