Murder By Death - Facebook
It is way too tempting to douse this review in whisky, hang it up across a hemp washing line, and blast it with buckshot whilst gargling engine grease as my eyes roll back in my head.
But that's what Murder By Death do.
As the house rock music comes to a silence, as the lights go down, in the Dingwalls in Camden, London; I am feeling the full force of sinusitis kicking me in the head after a five day period of flu; cooped up in bed with tissues and Lemsip.
MBD kick off with ‘Kentucky Bourbon’, tranquil in its descent, making me think of homestead movies, sodden mud bricks, and grassland isolation. I don't like Whisky, but I am all too ready to romanticise it; feeling more like I am in a saloon, drinking and ranting whilst old Joe plays the ivories, I manage to get over my illness and soak up the atmosphere.
Throughout the first half of their set, MBD play songs from their album Good Morning, Magpie'before crossing over during the second half to songs from In Bocca al Lupo - 'Brother' was a highlight, Adam Turla's vocals crashing over the PA, and Sarah Balliet's cello creating some beautiful soundscapes.
Booze. Cowboys. The Old West. 'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King. Lost relatives, and the sadness that comes with them. I found myself ruminating on all of this, in unison with what was coming from the stage.
Something else about MBD; their vibe makes me think of theft. Every song will have an aspect that I will want to pilfer for my own creative needs; a drum fill, a chord, or a vocal melody. They make you feel as if all is ripe for the taking, and this seems to go hand in hand with the liquor, cigarettes, and dead zombie children theme (listen to 'Who Will Survive And What Will Be Left Of Them?' if you don't understand)
Musical swag that you're tempted to bury in the sand; but I can't help but introduce all of my friends to them. You HAVE to listen to this.
Surprising is their cover of INXS's 'Never Tear Us Apart', of which I have memories of bellowing away whilst lying in bed as a child. Their twist is certainly their own; print it off, throw it in a barrel, let it age for a decade, and you've got a single malt version of the original.
They finished off the night with 'The Day' from Magpie and asked the crowd to sing along. I was only disappointed that they didn't play anything from Like The Exorcist, But With More Breakdancing and if you've not heard of Murder By Death, I would suggest starting there.
