Murder By Death‘s previous album ‘In Bocca Al Lupo‘ was an underrated, dark-hearted highlight of 2006, so here’s hoping that ‘Red Of Tooth And Claw‘ will gain them some much-deserved extra recognition. If you like your bands with grit under their fingernails, tales of liquor-stained hell weighing on their conscience, and a none-more-black sense of humour, then it’s high time you started paying attention to this lot.
Vocalist/guitarist Adam Turla sounds even more like Johnny Cash than before, which is certainly no bad thing. “I’m comin’ home, but I ain’t comin’ home to you!” he proclaims on the opening track, as cellist Sarah Balliet weaves a funereal melody in the background. It sets the tone for a record that sounds almost like a personal exorcism of sorts; one that rarely makes for easy listening, but is always eerily compelling. Stick with it until the end, and you’ll be glad you did.
Check out ‘Fuego‘ on the link above, and try to catch the band live when they return for some UK dates in July:
Fri 11th – Oxford Zodiac
Sat 12th – Bristol Thekla
Sun 13th – Nottingham Bodega Social
Mon 14th – Manchester Night & Day
Tue 15th – London Borderline
Wed 16th – Glasgow King Tuts
Thu 17th – Birmingham Bar Academy
Fri 18th – Latitude Festival (Suffolk)
Alex Gosman