On 2006's In Bocca Al Lupo, Murder By Death captured
a drum attack that flailed and scratched through Western-gothic frenzy and
cello shredding. The new Red Of Tooth And Claw gives the kit a more
direct sound, which is just one of many details that eats away at the
excitement. "Fuego!" doesn't match the restlessness of its own lyrics: "Baby,
it's been so long that even the roses' hips are turnin' me on," Adam Turla
sings, but over the kind of ticking drum pattern that's become indie-rock
shorthand for "cranky and/or nervous." Turla begins the album with his finest
Nick Cave baritone on "Comin' Home," which would be more impressive and
effective if it didn't hide the free-range panics and laments that make his
voice so memorable. MBD works best when Turla leads the charge into melodrama,
as on "Rumbrave." Otherwise, it's as if he's trying to stay balanced with the
rest of his band: That's no recipe for the chaos that dominates his
songwriting. Red
envisions turbulence, stages it professionally, and downplays Murder By Death's
power to frighten listeners and conjure up dust storms.