Murder By Death - 'In Bocca Al Lupo' (Cooking Vinyl) Released 05/0703

Indiana’s Murder By Death have returned with their third album 'In Bocca Al Lupo' telling tales of sin, transgression, punishment, and redemption.  With its scorching Americana rock ‘n’ roll blues and orchestral Bluegrass rhythms it is as much enthralling as it is thought provoking, and as hollow and ruthless as it is quaint and elegant. Prepare to walk the line…

'In Bocca Al Lupo' roughly translates 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".  We are now in MBD territory, a sound distinctly familiar to the great Johnny Cash and pioneered by the vocals of Adam Turla, like on ‘The Big Sleep’ and ‘Shoila’ as the vocal darkness and perfect rhythmic pauses is so distinct and hugely effective.  

MBD are diverse in their sound however and not confined to be Cash wannabies, like the searing atmospheric guitar surges that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on edge on ‘Raw Deal’ familiar to The Bends days of Radiohead.  We are then taken on another dark trail into the grave unknown with a certain feeling of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds as the orchestral strings of cellist Sarah Balliet shine through on ‘One More Notch’, which Nick himself would be proud of as the strict cello hits are combined with Turla’s alternating vocals as he shifts voices to express different characters in his lyrics. 

The melodramatic vocals and string accompaniment are prevalent throughout and are beautifully liaised with a winding acoustic guitar on ‘Steam Rising’ and in the classic rock ‘n’ roll anthem ‘Brother’, sounding like Green Day infested by the devil as Turla sings “how long is this going to last, you cant keep breathing in the past”.

Like the reasoning behind MBD’s name, 'In Bocca…' is a mystery as their sound is distinct and diverse, but their lyrics unique, dark, and theatrical. MBD are certainly not to everyone’s taste, but if you recognise and embrace the continuation of artists to make melodramatic Americana blues, then 'In Bocca…' is a gifted culmination and testament to this.