Twenty Pelicans: Rats Will Cry: In Bocca al Lupo

In Bocca al Lupo
Murder by Death
Tent Show, 2006
Numerical Feelings: 9.4

Murder by Death were still growing their craft in 2003 with Who Will Survive: three years later, and on their third full-length effort, it's not too surprising that the band sound like seasoned professionals -- but that they are suddenly near-masters, is surprising. In Bocca al Lupo overflows with intelligence, and with demented, inspired vigor, and with seeping passion and explosive fury -- all expressed with such devastating subtle elegance, that listeners trained to hearing a band wear its production values on its sleeve will probably miss what this album has to offer.

The music weaves sweeping, gorgeous orchestration into humble roots-rock forms, abandoning the strong heavy-metal / post-rock leanings of their previous work, a move which makes Lupo's first few plays sound simple and one-dimensional. The lyrics are the first sign of deeper waters below: Turla's narration obsesses over familial loyalty and lone-gun defiance in equal measure, and renders these themes with equally brilliant constructions of gritty, soiled realism or fiery impressionism. Dark tones, brooding or ferocious, pervade everything, but the subject matter is lofty as often as it is earth-bound: sinners find nearly blissful redemption in love, but know they cannot leave their guilt behind. For specifics, I could quote brilliant passages until I'd used up nearly every line in the album, because nearly every line is brilliant.

After a few listens, the deeper dimensions of Lupo's sound reveal themselves. The wispy moaning of the cello reveals stunning moments of counterpoint with the guitar, as well as thrilling solos of its own; the low, organic tone of the bass fills and fleshes out the texture of the slower dirges; the guitar itself discloses all sorts of subtle evolutions. But as rich and full as these compositions are, it would be inaccurate to call them 'lush': for there is restraint in every note. In the first place, because the band shies away from repetition: the song-structures can be wild and restless, which makes all these brilliant little touches more elusive, even though they are occurring constantly. In the second, because the band really doesn't want to sound lush: there is a fascination in Bocca al Lupo with the evocative power of a lone melody. The album is determined to sound like folk or old rock, no matter how full the arrangement gets, which is why all the little details are pushed to more ephemeral regions of texture (check out the first vocal part of 'The Devil Drives', and ask yourself when the last time you ever heard a band use such high notes on a bass guitar was): and even on the album's most overtly orchestral tracks, the entire song can hinge on a stark, gripping climax of just voice and cello, as with 'The Big Sleep'.

It takes a while to absorb music so complex yet so simple. The wild and fast tracks of the first half seem aimless and forced, until the constantly evolving interplay of each and every element of the song comes into focus: you see how the separate elements lead the progress of 'Boy Decide', 'Brother', and 'Sometimes the Line Walks You' through every single twist and turn, and the result is suddenly lean and organic and irresistible, and on par with the slower, gloomier second half's masterworks. An if all the short songs were so good, the album would be perfect.

Unfortunately, 'Dynamite Mine' and 'Organ Grinder' hold the first half back. Although they have their own moments of multi-faceted glory, they suffer for their blander melodies. They are simply too plain and provincial for their own good. But if that keeps In Bocca al Lupo from true masterpiece status, it leaves the album as no less essential. For Murder by Death have made that exceptionally rare kind of art: as earnest as it is erudite, as gracious as it is relentless. For this, it is sure to become a classic.

-7.06.2006