Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds - 'Iscariot The Ladder' (Tap n Tin) Released 04/02/2008

The suitably grim sounding Lupen Crook and his band The Murderbirds have had a two-year gap since their debut –‘Accidents Occur Whilst Sleeping’, but return with an excellent, if short, follow up. Crook, who at times sounds like Michael Stipe circa Automatic For The People, chills to the bone with his bleak biting landscapes. His songs are the ABC of rock music, angry, bitter and cynical, Crook sounding like the sort of guy who’s only truly happy when he’s unhappy- check out ‘Summer Time’. The Stipe-like tones are mixed with Frank Black-esque screams and underpinned by some punchy, punky tunes courtesy of the Murderbirds, whose tight playing and alternating haunting and restless accompaniment fits the songs perfectly.
 
The songs are nearly all quite short, but very well written. ‘The Critic’, ‘Cackle and the Crown’ and ‘Summer Time’ stand out as being the best. ‘Sympathy, Sunshine and the Catatonic Kiss’ sounds like a rather good Coral outcast – “Dead cats and acrobats, spent a lot on you, I want some back” even rhymes like them. The closest we get to a love song is ‘Splits n’ Differences’ but then “You’ve been playing at those tricks, now you’re such a dirty bitch” doesn’t suggest a happy ending.
 
For such raw tunes and downbeat lyrics, pristine and polished studio production is not gonna give the desired effect. Thankfully Lupen is well aware of this, and has made sure the opposite is employed. So much so, the album was actually recorded in the basement of a former brothel, giving the raw feel and getting the band into the frame of mid for some down and out tales. The songs were mainly recorded live too, adding to the effect and reinforcing the view held by those who caught Crook on his 07 tour, that they are also excellent on stage.
 
Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds could well be the 21st Century’s answer to The Cure, dark and dissatisfied but not overblown and Crook drives his point home all the more forcefully for it.