Those Who Stayed / I'm Afraid of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe / A Caucus Race / You Are the Last Dragon (You Possess the Power of the Glow) / Joe Bou / Flamenco's Fuckin' Easy / Intergalactic Menopause / Those Who Left / Holy Lord, Shawshank Redemption is Such a Good Movie!

COOKING VINYL / TENT SHOW

Re-released on the back of this year's breakthrough IL BOCCA AL LIPO album, LIKE THE EXORCIST, BUT MORE BREAKDANCING shows the roots of Indiana's Murder By Death.

Originally released back in 2002, LIKE THE EXORCIST, BUT MORE BREAKDANCING reveals the roots of the bands intoxicating sound; a kind of My Chemical Romance meets Johnny Cash inspired meeting of emo, Americana and roots rock.  Lush orchestral opener THOSE WHO STAYED is an atmospheric starting point dripping in dark gothic menace, swirling cello swells courtesy of classically trained Sarah Balliet recalling the grubby brilliance of The Dirty Three.  I'M AFRAID OF WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLFE is a collision of fractured electronic beats, stark piano chords and violent cello stabs, vocalist Adam Turla letting out a measured croon lying somewhere between Gerard Way and Thom Yorke.  The tender, reverb drenched guitar chords of A CAUCUS RACE herald another darkly intoxicating vision, Murder By Death again steeping their sound in dark, gothic bluster whilst on the more explosive YOU ARE THE LAST DRAGON (YOU POSSESS THE POWER OF THE GLOW) the band let loose with violent post hardcore guitar riffing.

Elsewhere here, the tender JOE BOU is a restrained acoustic lament that slowly build to a tear stained melancholic climax, FLAMENCO'S FUCKIN' EASY a lurching piano waltz imagining Coldplay getting seduced by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds and INTERGALCTIC MONOPAUSE a post rocking lesson in restraint, release and atmospheric tension; think Mogwai meets Sigur Ros meets Radiohead for clues.  Closing number HOLY LORD, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION IS SUCH A GOOD MOVIE is a typically dark and intoxicating affair, Murder By Death indulging in the usual swirling melancholy, lush cello swells and atmospheric guitar patterns that have by now become a staple of their work.

A darkly mesmerising and intoxicating record, LIKE THE EXORCIST, BUT MORE BREAKDANCING is a welcome re-release from Murder By Death, a chance to revisit the bands early work and in some cases the perfect place to begin a new infatuation with the band.

BIOGRAPHY

Indiana's Murder by Death layers the vocal sounds of an old saloon with haunting strings and the hard driving rhythms of pure rock n' roll, producing what Stuff magazine has called "lush, orchestrated songs," somehow simultaneously reminiscent of Johnny Cash and Radiohead. Added to that thick and intriguing sound are a series of dark and ironic lyrics, combining the mood and tone of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds with the narrative force of the Decemberists or a short story by Nathanial Hawthorne. Adam Turla fills out these sometimes frightening, sometimes beautiful lyrics by conjuring up a cast of character voices, allowing the songs to speak with the force of the characters themselves, and providing the listener with a sense of ensemble unique in rock music.

But this ensemble feel is not only the result of Turla's vocal playfulness, but of the cohesive playing of the band itself. Sarah Balliet channels her Kentucky Bluegrass roots through the skilled hands of a concert cellist, playing point and counterpoint to the lyrics and guitars with magnificent grace and style. Matt Armstrong's bass guitar provides the rhythmic framework of the band, but also takes the lead with surprising frequency, guiding Murder by Death into driving highs and brooding lows. And Alex Schrodt's drumsticks almost dance across the skins, giving the band what the Chicago Reader called "a rhythm section Nick Cave or the Faint would die for." The result is a fascinating slice of American Gothic, replete with trail rides, whiskey shots and Old Scratch himself.

Murder by Death's unique sound has developed over several years of touring and recording. Constantly evolving their sound, the style changes from their first release "Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing" to their sophomore release, "Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?". "Who Will Survive..." grew from a small, limited pressing album into a sleeper hit as they constantly toured the country, touring with bands as diverse as The Weakerthans, Rasputina, Lucero, Against Me!, The Pogues,

William Elliott Whitmore, and The Reverend Horton Heat. "Who Will Survive's..." rich narrative structure, which recounted the travails of a small western town besieged by the devil, not only garnered popular and critical attention, but inspired a number of artistic reactions and responses, including ballet and stage productions, paintings, and even a PhD thesis.

The band's new album, entitled "In Bocca al Lupo," forgoes the integrated narrative structure of "Who will Survive..., " presenting the listener with an album built on thematic connections. "In Bocca al Lupo," which translates roughly to "In the Mouth of the Wolf" (a phrase said before students take exams in Italian classrooms, and to which the students respond "Kill the Wolf"), examines themes of sin, transgression, punishment, and redemption, touching on different lives and different stories in each individual song. The resulting album resembles the 1979 murder mystery from which the band takes its name-a pastiche of bad deeds and good intentions, of last minute heroism and, in some cases, nearly impossible forgiveness.

Musically, "In Bocca al Lupo" is as diverse as the various stories that the album recounts. The songs themselves reflect the stories they tell-gritty rock and roll beats drive "Brother" and "Sometimes the Line Walks You," complex tango rhythms twine themselves through "One More Notch," and lonely western guitars accompany the simple elegance of "Shiola" and "Raw Deal." Each of the album's ballads and waltzes, chants and hard hitting rock songs, meld content and form, creating meaning in the music itself. Murder by Death's unique musical aesthetic ties these seemingly disparate tracks together. With the help of producer J. Robbins (Jets to Brazil, Jawbox, Against Me!) the lush melodies and harmonies so unique to the band transform these varied sounds into a coherent and cohesive album, an album whose overall sound and sensibility melds the darkest moments of Modest Mouse's "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" with the maudlin country roots of Western folk rock. The band's thick, fretted, knotty sound provides a through line, tying together an album as musically diverse as the backcountry roads and basement rooms that inspired it.

"In Bocca al Lupo", on Tent Show Records, the band's own label, shows off Murder by Death's maturity, both as songwriters and musicians. The album is alternately rough and gentle, elegant and complex, intelligent and playful; it moves from one to the other without breaking stride, without interrupting the album as whole. Murder by Death is known for their talent as performers, for their live presence, the ambiance and energy present in their music. "In Bocca al Lupo" harnesses this energy and distills it, adding to it the maturity of a band constantly on the road.

LINE UP

Adam Turla

Sarah Balliet

Dagan Thogerson

Matt Armstrong

LITTLE JOE GOULD EP (Self Released>2001)

Como Panuelos Blancos de Adios

Lets Take the Train

Come Thursday

This Song is Brought to you by the Letter C and the Number 6

Raise the Shade

Canyon Inn (Room 16)

LIKE THE EXORCIST BUT MORE BREAKDANCING (Eyeball Records>2002)

Those Who Stayed

I'm Afraid of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe

A Caucus Race

You Are the Last Dragon (You Possess the Power of the Glow)

Joe Bou

Flamenco's Fuckin' Easy

Intergalactic Menopause

Those Who Left

Holy Lord, Shawshank Redemption is Such a Good Movie!

SPLIT WITH VOLTA DO MAR (Arbor Vitae Records>2003)

Murder by Death

A Masters in Reverse Psychology

Canyon Inn, Room 16

Knife Goes In, Guts Come Out

We Watch a Lot of Movies

Volta Do Mar

Ready Broken Finger

On a Hand Held Sky

Search Lights Burn the Cornfields Bright

Fall Out of Cars Fall Out of Night

WHO WILL SURVIVE AND WHAT WILL BE LEFT OF THEM? (Eyeball Records>2003)

The Devil in Mexico

Killbot 2000

Until Morale Improves, The Beatings Will Continue

Three Men Hanging

INTERMISSION

A Masters in Reverse Psychology

The Desert is On Fire

That Crown Don't Make You A Prince

Pillars of Salt

End of the Line

TRIBUTE 7-INCH FOR MATT DAVIS (Self Released>2003)

For Matt Davis

Five Years (Originally by David Bowie)

IN BOCCA AL LUPO (Tent Show Records / East/West>2006)

Boy Decide

One More Notch

Dead Men and Sinners

Brother

Dynamite Mine

The Organ Grinder

Sometimes the Line Walks You

Raw Deal

The Big Sleep

Shiola

Steam Rising

The Devil Drives

LINKS

Murder By Death>www.murderbydeath.com

FURTHER LISTENING

The Dirty Three

My Chemical Romance

Darling Violett