Murder By Death - Boy Decide (Cooking Vinyl)
4/5
By: Chris Pratt
This whip-crackingly great single is the first fruits of Murder By Death's third album 'In Bocco Al Lupo' (Italian for 'In the wolf's mouth') which, alas, won't see the light of day on English shores until the spring. At least we have this mouth-watering preview to tide us over 'til then - 'Boy Decide' is a stern warning to a young whippersnapper who's wasting his life away. 'You're too old to f**k around and too young to die' scolds Adam Turla, as his band mates conjure up a stomping cataclysm which somehow references both their post-hardcore origins and the current wave of gypsy-folk, all bound together by Sarah Balliet's dramatic cello lines. The production is remarkable, but you'd expect nothing less from DC knob-twiddler extraordinaire, J.Robbins who's previously been responsible for classics from the likes of The Dismemberment Plan, Braid and Faraquet, as well as his own Burning Airlines and Jawbox.
Also provided is an interesting alternate version of the lead track - pared down, less frantic and with the vocal line menacingly intoned by Turla in a baritone murmur uncannily like that of the young Johnny Cash. The subtle castanets and flamenco strutting of 'One More Notch' is yet another bonus, with his croon now operating at Sinatra-esque levels of theatricality, permeating lines like 'when your lips lock, you both catch on fire' with both romanticism and foreboding. If the rest of 'In Bocco Al Lupo' lives up to this enticing selection then we've got a classic on our hands.
Artists in this article: Murder By Death
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