Artist Murder By Death

Birch Miller

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Murder By Death

If Murder By Death were a painting, it would be American Gothic. Employing rustic acoustics and a hushed, spooky sound, the band is foreboding with its deep croons and entrancing cello. Its 2008 album, Red Of Tooth And Claw, was appropriately morose, recalling the expanse of some empty Western landscape. 2010’s Good Morning, Magpie is a cohesive follow-up: MBD remains ensconced in brooding narrative and bleak imagery, which is not to say that the band lacks in energy. Good Morning fittingly works in spirited roots-rock and post-punk flourishes that brighten the album as much as they texture it. Fans of the band’s recent material may be interested to check out the band’s first two records, Like The Exorcist and Who Will Survive, which it just acquired the rights to and reissued on Bandcamp.

Updated 12/15/2011