Bloomington, IN’s gothic-folk band Murder By Death will release their sixth full-length album and Bloodshot Records debut, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, on September 25th. Murder By Death wrote Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon – their first album featuring contributions from multi-instrumentalist Scott Brackett (formerly of Okkervil River and Shearwater)– throughout most of 2011, testing and reworking the songs in singer Adam Turla’s basement-turned-practice-space.

In January, Murder By Death traveled to Dallas, TX to record with producer John Congleton (Explosions In The Sky, St. Vincent, Black Mountain) over three weeks. While Bloodshot Records is putting out the CD and digital editions of this new release, the vinyl edition is being released by the band and was funded via a Kickstarter campaign (which ended up being the third most successful music Kickstarter). The deluxe edition vinyl release ($24.95 from Bloodshot Records) is on moon-colored vinyl and comes in a die cut jacket with vellum interior sleeves. "You can shine a light through it and it looks all pretty! Also comes with a reversible zoetrope (which is an old fashioned animation you can set up on your record player) and a Japanese lantern."

While Murder By Death seems to be frequently compared to Nick Cave, Adam Turla's somber, almost spoken word baritone vocals, accompanied by minimalist instrumentation on the disc opener "My Hill", brought to mind Johnny Cash's American Records recordings. The following track, "Lost River", starts slow but picks up the tempo with a full range of cinematic instrumentation which build to a rich crescendo. Continuing to mix things up, "Straight at the Sun" is a tight punk-rock number which that sounds like something out of New Model Army's playbook. Some of the strongest cuts on the disc are the next three tracks: "No Oath, No Spell", "I Came Around" and "Hard World". "No Oath, No Spell" is a shuffling blues-rock number with prominent piano, oboe and horns coupled with Adam Turla's world-weary vocals. "I Came Around" is a barroom rock number similar to one of The Pogues' songs - with lyrics about death and settling debts and music that builds from a subdued intro into an explosion of energy. "Hard World" is a rough-edged punk-rock sing-along number with a driving beat.



Following a hometown record release show in Bloomington, IN at the Bluebird Nightclub on September 27th, Murder By Death will join Say Anything for a three and a half week tour in October. The tour begins in Anaheim, CA at the House Of Blues on October 4th and wraps up on October 28th at Korova in San Antonio, TX. Unfortunately, there is no NYC show for this leg of the tour so the closest stop is Starland Ballroom in Sayreville.

Murder By Death Tour Dates:
SEPT. 27 -- BLOOMINGTON, IN -- BLUEBIRD NIGHTCLUB
OCT. 4 -- ANAHEIM, CA -- HOUSE OF BLUES*
OCT. 5 -- TUCSON, AZ -- RIALTO THEATRE*
OCT. 6 -- ALBUQUERQUE, NM -- SUNSHINE THEATRE*
OCT. 7 -- FORT COLLINS, CO -- AGGIE THEATRE*
OCT. 9 -- KANSAS CITY, MO -- THE BEAUMONT CLUB*
OCT. 10 -- DES MOINES, IA -- WOOLY'S*
OCT. 11 -- MILWAUKEE, WI -- THE RAVE*
OCT. 12 -- PALATINE, IL -- DURTY NELLIES*
OCT. 13 -- GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- THE INTERSECTION*
OCT. 14 -- COLUMBUS, OH -- NEWPORT MUSIC HALL*
OCT. 16 -- SYRACUSE, NY -- LOST HORIZON*
OCT. 17 -- PROVIDENCE, RI -- LUPO'S HEARTBREAK HOTEL*
OCT. 18 -- LANCASTER, PA -- CHAMELEON*
OCT. 19 -- SAYREVILLE, NJ -- STARLAND BALLROOM*
OCT. 20 -- HUNTINGTON, NY -- PARAMOUNT THEATER*
OCT. 21 -- SILVER SPRING, MD -- THE FILLMORE*
OCT. 23 -- NASHVILLE, TN -- EXIT/IN*
OCT. 24 -- ATHENS, GA -- 40 WATT CLUB*
OCT. 25 -- PENSACOLA, FL -- AMERICAN LEGION HALL POST 33*
OCT. 27 -- FORT WORTH, TX -- RIDGLEA THEATER*
OCT. 28 -- SAN ANTONIO, TX -- KOROVA*
* supporting Say Anything

Links:
Murder By Death