[5/5] With its whiskey-soaked bucolic orchestrations and its storyline of the Devil in a western town, Murder By Death's previous album, 2003's Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left Of Them?, could've doubled as a soundtrack to HBO's Wild West drama Deadwood. But on In Bocca Al Lupo, the band manage to outdo even the grandeur of Survive by luring the Devil a few degrees south of the border and convincing him to mainline tequila. Recklessly swaying between far-flung styles, the Indiana quartet nonetheless keep up a seamless song-by-song bond over the album's 12 tracks. The ties that bind MBD's tunes--cello-infused rock, classical dramatic narratives, folk-rock and alt-country spirit--serve as a robust foundation for the band's boundless musical exploration. The results are songs such as "One More Notch," which evokes a rapturous tango led by Nick Cave; the brackish seafarer's chant of "Dead Men And Sinners"; and the essence of world-weary Johnny Cash on the acoustic "Shiola." While three years may be a long time between albums, it was worth the wait to see MBD raise the bar this high.
(TENT SHOW/EAST WEST) Zena Tsarfin
 Official Website: http://www.tentshowrecords.com
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