With an artist like Neil Young, it is all too tempting to compare current releases with the landmark records of his back catalog, forgetting to let new material speak for itself unfettered by preconceptions and anticipation.

His newest record, Le Noise, features Young sans band, or any kind of backing, armed with only an acoustic and an electric guitar, the sounds being filled out by producer and fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois (yes, the title is a pun). The record meanders along nicely, with the darkly fuzzy “Walk With Me,” a cascade of reverb and delay from Lanois introducing Young’s hauntingly ferocious voice perfectly. The mood remains much the same as the first track gives way to “Sign Of Love,” electronic manipulations of Young’s guitar burbling in the background.

The downfall of this record is an overwhelming lack of variety. The record has two modes – fuzzy and dark, or warm and pretty, making the album lean heavily on its lyrics, which sometimes fall flat. The production too can be a little heavy handed. With not much to produce, Lanois sometimes goes overboard on strange effects, vocal loops and reverb.  “Angry World” and “Peaceful Valley Boulevard” are easily balanced out by tracks like “Love And War” and “Hitchhiker,” which float along beautifully.

Neil Young may never top the likes of After The Gold Rush, Harvest or On The Beach, but this is possibly an assumption made about every record he has released subsequent to these masterworks, so we can get it out of the way now and say that Le Noise – isn’t as good as those records. Fine. It is however, a fairly interesting record that is certainly worth digging out.

Conclusion – Haunting, riveting and confusing in equal measure.