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Good Morning, Magpie Review
Each indivdual song is its own tableau of drunken regret, hopeful longing, and bittersweet realization.
The first time I heard Murder by Death, it was on a homemade mix cd given to me by a friend. Every time Adam Turla's voice kicked in on the track “Steal Away” from 2008's Red of Tooth and Claw, I kept thinking I was listening to Nick Cave. That murder ballad feel was pervasive. Later that year, I caught their live set, and immediately went out to the merchandise table and bought the album. This band's gritty, Southern gothic, gutter punk feel had captured me completely. In turns ghosts of the bayou and black-hatted cowboy movie reel, Murder by Death's songs had a pleasing undercurrent of darkness, danger, and epic visions.
Good Morning, Magpie picks up those threads and sets up the sequel to the stories of revenge put forth in the previous release. The bitterness and anger of those songs have finally subsided into an amber bottle of forgetfulness, a slow contemplation of regret and sunsets. The opening track is a tiny piece of nostalgia, as if we should be listening to these compositions on a 78” pressing through Great-Grandma's gramophone. Good Morning, Magpie has a much fuller sound, almost operatic; I have heard this band described as “cinematic,” and I would agree. There is a certain spaghetti western soundtrack feel to all the songs, and this album, although not completely enmeshed in that film genre, could be the background score to a dark movie. They are the Coen Brothers set to music, with their vivid and twisted imagery weaving through every lyric, curving around every cello chord.
And whereas the album as a whole works as the soundtrack to a traveling carnival to rival the one from Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, each indivdual song is its own tableau of drunken regret, hopeful longing, and bittersweet realization. “King of the Gutters, Prince of the Dogs,” sung in the song of the same name, could be this band's tagline, for sure. “Piece by Piece” calls to mind that lumbering rider on the open prairie; it literally feels like a Western movie sunset, the lone rider moving off in silouhette. One thing Murder by Death accomplishes well with every song I've heard by them is creating mood. The different instruments layer and entwine with each other into tapestries of pure emotion, deep colors that burrow in deep and hold on tight. The title track is a funereal waltz in half time, the down beat of the drums holding up the imagined dancer by sheer force of will, crawling, parched, grasping as Turla finally belts forth, “my love, still you carry me home, little dove...” What he sings there is the lyrical opposite of the music, a love song set to a dirge, as if the couple were running away from The Walking Dude from Stephen King's great Armageddon story. Their influences are myriad, both literary and musical. We've touched upon Bradbury and King, masters of the macabre, but musically, Murder by Death moves through Nick Cave, Ennico Morricone, and Johnny Cash, whose influence is felt and heard most strongly in “White Noise.” The Man in Black knew darkness, and pair “White Noise” with “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” from Cash's American V, and you're sure to put the fear of retribution and Judgement Day into the hearts and minds of all your friends.
Good Morning, Magpie is a smart collection of songs, appealing to more senses than just hearing. Like fine whiskey, even not so fine whiskey, there's a sting, then a warmth, and a deep sense of longing that can't be drowned with just one swig, with just one listen.
A | Courtney Rau
RIYL: Nick Cave, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Johnny Cash
Read more at Playback STL
Murder By Death - Good Morning, Magpie
It’s only March, and this year just keeps getting better and better musically. The newest Murder by Death album, Good Morning, Magpie is debuting in early April, and is sure to top the charts as one of the best indie-folk albums of the year. Defying current musical stereotypes and redefining what true Americana and Folk really are, the newest addition to the MBD discography will be sure to keep you enthralled for quite some time.
Although it is not a concept album, Good Morning, Magpie instead captures the eternal struggle between light and dark, containing some of the darkest and brightest material that MBD has even produced. Mostly written in two weeks in the Appalachian Mountains by Adam Turla, MBD’s singer, guitarist, and songwriter, the lyrics themselves are powerful, haunting, intense, heartfelt, genuine, impactful, and incredibly passionate. They are though provoking but combined with the wonderful instrumentals, the journey through the darkness and into the light is a beautiful change from the average trendy sound that we have come to expect from most modern music.
With Turla’s vocals lacing themselves among a potent blend of strings, drums, keys, and bass, comes a new breed of American rock. All elements of their sound are more than ordinary, working together to create the uniquely amazing sound that is MBD. The cello adds an ambiance full of passion and power, the drums are almost DCI worthy for their superb marching sound, and the bass line crawls across your skin with it’s own growl of rumbling low tones, and accompanied by the Johnny Cash-esque sound of Turla’s own melodic voice.
The album opens with the mellow “Kentucky Bourbon” and continued on through the slightly addictive lyrics of “On the Dark Streets Below,” a personal favorite of mine. With the horn line addition, it sets off the track, giving it an almost swing feel à la Brian Setzer. The title track “Good Morning, Magpie” holds a few charms of its own before blending into “You Don’t Miss Twice.” Up next is the superbly unique “Foxglove,” the most catchy and instrumentally diverse track on the album, and the best track on the album in my opinion. Finishing off the album is “White Noise” and “Day” both masterpieces of this new and innovative genre and finishing off the album just as good as it started.
You can be sure that this is not another mass produced album that will sit amongst the shelves of your local chain record store, but instead a gem that will stand out for years to come. Be sure to pick up this album when it hits shelves on April 6th, and catch the band at a venue near you in the upcoming months during their current US tour. Grab some friends and a bottle of whiskey, and let this superb version of homegrown Americana Folk rock take you on a whole new unique journey through the battle between darkness and light.
Track Listing:
1. Kentucky Bourbon
2. As Long as There Is Whiskey in the World
3. On the Dark Streets Below
4. King of the Gutters, Prince of the Dogs
5. Piece by Piece
6. Good Morning, Magpie
7. You Don t Miss Twice
8. Yes
9. Foxglove
10. White Noise
11. The Day
Read more at Popwreckoning.com