ARTIST: Murder By Death
TITLE: Red of Tooth and Claw
LABEL: Vagrant
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 184kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 37m total
RELEASE DATE: 2008-03-04
RIP DATE: 2008-02-28
Track List
----------
1. Comin' Home 3:35
2. Ball & Chain 3:02
3. Rumbrave 3:06
4. Fuego! 4:11
5. Theme (for Ennio Morricone) 2:49
6. A Second Opinion 3:19
7. Steal Away 2:05
8. Ash 3:32
9. The Black Spot 3:21
10. '52 Ford 2:25
11. Spring Break 1899 5:56
Release Notes:
Though theyÆve had eight years to refine their sound and vision, Murder By Death
rolled out of the gates fully realized in 2000, playing a blend of rocking
Americana noir and dramatic post-punk that erased old style and audience
boundaries as much as it tested the limits of new ones. And with their fourth
album and Vagrant debut, Red Of Tooth And Claw (3/4/08), the Bloomington,
Indiana, quartet are emerging as true artists in the zero-boundary sense:
cinematic storytellers whose albums come together in an essential whole, and
players whose jaw-dropping performances on record make you yearn for the chance
to experience their energy up close and in person.
As much as the bandÆs previous full-lengthsù2002Æs Like The Exorcist, But More
Breakdancing; 2003Æs Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left Of Them?; and
2006Æs In Bocca Al Lupoùdocument this evolution, Red Of Tooth And Claw finds
Murder By Death at the height of their powers. Recorded with Grammy-winning
producer Trina Shoemaker (Queens Of The Stone Age, Emmylou Harris, Iggy Pop) at
Dark Horse studios in Tennessee, the album captures the drama and nuance of
MBDÆs sound without compromising a lick of the bandÆs energy. And as longtime
followers of their narrative gritùequal parts Old West drama and Old Testament
justiceùwill be glad to know, MBDÆs subject matter also hasnÆt softened for
album No. 4. Rife with lust, betrayal, and classical archetypes of good and
evil, Red Of Tooth And Claw is, as singer/guitarist Adam Turla puts it, a
ôHomerÆs Odyssey of revenge, only without the honorable character at the
center.ö
That notion of an epic quest rings apparent from the first notes of Red Of Tooth
And Claw. Equally indebted to Eric Burdon and Johnny Cash (TurlaÆs vocals have
never sounded so ominously haunted and low), ôIÆm CominÆ Homeö sets the albumÆs
tone with a shuffle and a snarl. Bassist Matt Armstrong and new drummer Dagan
Thogerson drive the songs with equal parts understatement and brute force, and
cellist Sarah Balliet, whose vocabulary spans from Kentucky bluegrass to Western
classical, guides and slashes through the songs with colors both in and outside
the lines of traditional Americana.
The pace may changeùsee the Ennio Morricone-inspired instrumental ôThemeö or the
huge, swinging confrontational lament ôBlack Spotöùbut thereÆs a sense of
forward momentum throughout Red Of Tooth And Claw that drives home the idea of
moving inevitably closer toà something. ôWith In Bocca Al Lupo, we were getting
inspiration from a basic ideaùsin, in the Dante/Divine Comedy senseùand doing 12
songs that were very unique and about different people. But as a whole, itÆs
just an anthology of songs,ö says Turla. ôWith this one, we got the story
developed and realized that we wanted to stay moving in that direction
throughout the record. The album is kind of frantic at times, and intentionally
so: If itÆs an album about travel, letÆs actually make it sound like travel.ö
Murder By DeathÆs own travelsùthe band have shared stages with artists as
musically and geographically far-flung as Against Me!, Rev. Horton Heat, the
Pogues, Clutch and Flogging Mollyùhave seasoned the band as performers, but the
m.o. for their music has existed since day one. ItÆll come as no surprise to
anyone whoÆs pored over MBDÆs lyrics that between them, Turla and cellist Sarah
Balliet have degrees in religious studies and anthropology; however, beyond the
band membersÆ book-smarts lies a shared love not only of American roots music,
but of the gut-level emotion at that musicÆs core. ItÆs one thing to be a rock
band that writes concept albums, but MBD is not drawn to the sort of clinical,
pretentious trappings usually associated with that idea. As Turla explains, ôThe
real energy in our songs comes from stuff like the sexual tension, the murder,
the drinking and basically any other dirt you find between the lines.ö