Murder by Death is not a band known to shy away from ambitious concept records. For their sophomore album, Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?, the group composed an intricate song cycle based on a story involving the devil, Mexico and oil. Follow-up In Bocca al Lupo consisted of songs detailing various characters struggling through each level of Dante's version of hell. These hyper-literate stylings, backed by saloon-rock and cello swells, have earned the band a passionate (if relatively small) number of followers.
Although the band recently signed a new record deal with Vagrant Records, it seems their old habits have remained intact. Their forthcoming album, Red of Tooth and Claw, sounds every bit as elaborate as their past efforts. Frontman Adam Turla described the new record as "Homer's odyssey of revenge, only without the honorable character at the center." Fuego!, a three-song EP, is meant to whet our appetites for the band's forthcoming full-length.
The Fuego! EP starts off strong with its title track. Here, Turla dusts off his best Johnny Cash croon for a song of gin, flames, bones and lust. It's a bit disorienting to hear Turla proclaim licentious phrases such as "I want you!" as he imitates Cash's voice, but ultimately, the song works. Jangly guitars, muscular percussion and a subtly danceable bass line coalesce into a classic Murder by Death piece. Although the energetic cut doesn't quite live up to the band's best moments, such as the hair-raising emotional climax of Who Will Survive's "Killbot 2000", it's a great song in its own right.
Following "Fuego!" is a live cover of Cher's 1966 hit single "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)." Here, Turla drops the Cash façade for vocal stylings more in line with Jeff Buckley. Clocking in at 2.5 minutes, Murder by Death offers a bare, uninteresting interpretation of the track. For the most part, the song consists of vocals and a few light strums on Turla's electric guitar. Ultimately, the song is a pleasant-sounding yet forgettable interlude, segueing nicely into the EP's final track.
Fuego!'s three tracks are capped off by "Theme (for Ennio Morricone)," a shout-out to the composer of such legendary spaghetti Western film soundtracks as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The track is an attempt to re-capture Morricone's epic musical statements, using full-time cellist Sarah Balliet to the band's fullest advantage. Balliet's gorgeous string balladry is easily the strongest part of the song, passionately played to achieve an acute sense of drama. Unfortunately, producer Trina Shoemaker (Queens of the Stone Age, Iggy Pop) leaves Balliet's strings low in the final mix, crippling a song that should have been cathartic and soaring. You can almost feel the band straining towards an epic climax the strings suggest, but instead of achieving the catharsis it promises, "Theme" meanders aimlessly for its 4-minute run-time.
And then it's over. Even though Fuego! is meant to get fans excited for Murder by Death's upcoming album, it leaves little more than an ambivalent aftertaste. To be fair, all of these songs are very solid. At the end of the day, however, they're more ordinary than outstanding. Hopefully the band is holding a few tricks up its sleeve for Red of Tooth and Claw. If not, there isn't much to get excited about.
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