Customer Reviews

Like the Exorcist, But More Breakdancing

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw this band play live with Thursday, and they were incredible. Saying that I was totally blown away would be an understatment. Everyone in the crowd was shocked at how good a band that came on stage with a drummer, cello, keyboard, bass and guitar from Indiana could be. I didn't think that music this lush and structured and beautiful could be made by anyone. I went to the show expecting this band to be another mediocre cookie cutter hardcore band, and I was astonished at how moved I was by their music. Needless to say, I bought everything they had for sale that night...shirts, posters, CDs everything. This CD does not dissapoint, as it delivers rich and moving pieces of music, ranging from long winding instrumentals to stripped down rockers. There is so much to be heard with their music, and it creates a new listening experience every time you listen. This album is so deep and so beautiful, it's a must have. Give it a try and I promise you'll like it.

PS Their new band name is Murder By Death and they have a new CD coming out within the next month on eyeball records. Buy it!

Take atmospheric soundscapes by the likes of Sigur Ros, Godspeed You Black Emperor, or any other semi-classical sounding post-rock ensemble, and add a thrashing, angry guitar and an angst filled Robert Smith/Morrissey type voice, and you've almost got something like Little Joe Gould.

I like this album a lot. Except for the few instances where the singer sounds like he might be accidentally faking an english accent, and the hissy low-fi production value, the thing is nearly flawless. Fine music, with a spark of originality and creative energy which moves this novice band light-years ahead of most major label acts. The truly moving tracks on this album are the instrumentals. It's all about wild, near-symphonic power, starting with an sombre theme and building up slowly a wall of sound that threatens to become a great volcanic monster intent on ripping the skin from your body and devouring your circulatory system. Do not let the humorous song titles fool you: This is some deep, dark, angst-ridden material, gloriously bled forth from the culturally inept landscape of middle America.

I take back what I said before about hissy, low fi production values being a negative thing. It adds to it. It sounds as if it was recorded in an ancient wooden shack somewhere, or an old church, by virtuoso performers who decided to get together and play their hearts out in the middle of the night. You can almost hear a coyote echoing in the background, getting ready to stand up and Rock.

If you're really after a moving Little Joe Gould experience, though, see them perform live. There's something really cool about a show which starts with a girl playing a few bars on a cello, that ends with smoke coming out of a little skull onstage and the drum set being lit ablaze, while the piano player actually stands up on his bench and breathes fire, as the music comes to its satisfying climax while the emo kids surrounding you are rendered completely speechless.

But what really sets this band apart from the other virtuoso, experimental, fire-breathing musicians of the world is their charming humility and friendliness, on and off the stage. These are artists who deserve support, who deserve a following. I want to hear whatever they do next.

Well Thursday pulled into Tulsa this weekend...and with them came a few bands I have never heard of....the opener was Black Cross (pretty good, if you like hardcore punk), then Murder by
Death..(hear about them later) and the band right before Thursday, This Day Forward (another good band)....

Well anyways after Black Cross I didnt know what to expect, and with a name like Murder by Death, it sounds Ear Crushing....but when they stepped on stage they took on a new light, looking in there own way like one of there fantasy knock off horror shows...with there carefully creepy music, making a wall of noise and then dropping off into one of there beautiful sweeping passages...

The Keyboard and The Celloist bring a certain something to the band basically bringing them to life, while there bass player puts his own signature touch on the songs....in the back the drummer is wailing away on his set like its the last time he is going to play...and the singer is screaming his last dying screams.....this all in one track "those who left", and its how they closed there show....

With all this which is just all visual, the cd does justice but no justice to what they are live.......if they are around your area pick up and go there, they are absolutely amazing and i would not have it any other way...they truly are the reason im a musician, when you see the celloist start crying at the end of the last song you know theres is a reason for playing....well enjoy

I happened upon this album after I heard Who Will Survive, and sure enough, I immediately liked it just as much. It's quite different from their 2nd album, but good nonetheless. It's not as dark an effort as Who will Survive and seems to be a little more dreamy. My favorite tract is Intergalactic Menopause, which has a great running cello (i think that's what it is, might be a violin) and amazing effects on the vocals. In all, great album.

Murder by Death is one of those bands that are impossible to label. You can quiz people after one of their shows, and everyone will have an opinion on what kind of band they are. They blend emo, country, rock. They are bizarre, Gothic, jarring, and melodic.
I took to this band as soon as I heard the first track of this CD. I've always been into ambient, emotional music. I admit, I held my breath until I heard the vocalist, and he does not disappoint. Best thing is, when you go see MBD, they are very approachable. We actually had dinner with them before the show.
If you are a fan of bands like The Gathering, Lacuna Coil, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Neurosis....anything experimental and progressive, then you will like MBD.

This album is an enormous landscape of haunting cello, guitar, percussion and odd sounds, stretched across a compelling set of tracks that pulls you in and doesn't let you go. Their sound has since evolved but this is still my favorite by far.

My introduction to Murder By Death came by chance a couple of years ago when I was turned on to their magnificent In Bocca Al Lupo. That eventually made such an impression on me, I sought out some of their other material to hear if they were the real deal or had just gotten lucky. Several albums and a couple of years later, I have come to the conclusion that MBD is a real piece of work.
Like the Exorcist But More Breakdancing is not their best album, but it is an auspicious harbinger of what was to come. They have certainly found a winning formula and have developed a rather unique sound that sets them apart from their contemporaries. In that last regard, you might even think of them as the Midwest's answer to Calexico.
The entire album is quite listenable, but there are a couple of songs that really stand out. Those Who Stayed features some haunting cello work and many elements in common with modern progressive rock; Flamencos #*!#in Easy has an addictively mesmerizing and haunting quality; and Those Who Left is filled with relentless power and a touch of mystery (think Nick Cave).
Those who are already MBD fans will want to add this one to their collections. Those who are here because they are merely curious about the band can start their musical journey with the band right here. Murder By Death certainly struck a chord with me!

"Like The Exorcist..." is a fantastic CD that blends instrumental and vocal songs and shows just what Murder By Death is like. This CD is incredible, go pick it up now.

Like heaven flowing endlessly into my ears. This album is simply amazing. Although their is no such thing as "Little Joe Gould" as the band is now called "Murder By Death." They sell this cd with a Murder By Death sticker on it now. Back to the music... the cello blends perfectly with the dark mood of this cd. The keyboard does so as well. The singer's voice is exceptionally great and just adds to the greatness of this cd. I recommend you buy this now and expand your pleasure.

I'm a huge, huge fan of "Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of Them," so much that I've listened to it millions of times and have found something new and amazing to love each time. I can't even try to break down the hours I've spent listening to that CD.

I guess I'm going to have to get myself ready to do the same with this CD. I just got it today and I've listened to it three times straight, each time liking it more and more.

Honestly this is a breath of fresh air considering some recent disappointments. System of a Down's Hypnotize I guess was so good at being hypnotic or something that it convinced me it doesn't exist, because I've listened to that album many times and still have no idea how the music goes because it's so bland I stop paying attention. Tool's 10000 Days is so much like Lateralus that whenever Vicarious begins I blank out and keep thinking for a moment that I'm listening to Schism.

But Murder by Death is some very strong and wonderful music. Technically, I think "Who Will Survive" is better because there's about a million different ways to take it and it's all structured around itself, making basically the consummate concept album. This one I'm not so sure about but I'm willing to bet the more I listen the more it will provide the same reactions... just unlike Who Will Survive, it doesn't immediately strike me as a thematic album.

--PolarisDiB