mercredi 19 juin 2013

Murder by death - Bitter drink, bitter moon (2012)


Murder by death (cool band name for a cool band!) are from Bloomington, Indiana and they play a kind of gothic / dark americana rock, somewhere between Nick Cave & the bad seeds, 16 horsepower and Bruce Springsteen.
Bitter drink, bitter moon is their 6th album, released last year by the excellent Bloodshot records. the electric cello adds a nice touch, the vocals are excellent but moreover the songs are great, sounding really heartfelt and vibrant. if you like this kind of music I highly recommend you this really good album as well as the rest of Murder by death discography.

Murder by death website


and here's the interview I did with them by mail :

-the band have a few years now, can you tell us how was it formed and its evolution up to now?

13 years now! We started as kids just out of high school, and it has evolved into our entire lives. If we aren't touring, we are recording, writing, and managing all the aspects of the band. Its been a great time though and we love what we do.

-what about your new record, Bitter drink, bitter moon?
well, its been out about nine months now, and people seem to like it. We spent almost a year writing it, rehearsing in my basement. It was very nice to be able to spend more time writing and working, as usually we were on the road much too often to get a chance to really dig in and work on some intricate details.

-seems to me that your music sits just between rock and more traditionnal popular music like folk/blues, how would you describe your music?
yeah, each song is different. We try to blend elements of different styles to make our own blend. It's a fun way to write, and it opens a lot of doors creatively.

-the electric cello is an important and distinctive part of your music, how did you get to use it in Murder by death?

Sarah has always been a member- when we started the group, we basically decided to treat it like a lead guitar. She has come such a long way in getting comfortable in a rock setting that she is now doing a lot more of the song writing, which is great to have help.

-this rock / folk mix and the kind of feeling and atmosphere that your music develops reminds me a bi of bands like Nick Cave and the Bad seeds or 16 Horsepower, is it bands that you listen to? what are your main influences?


cool- yeah those are both great bands. I had never heard either band when we started the group, but as we developed people started to compare us to them, and i think it is a compliment and a pretty good comparison. We usually try to do our own thing rather than copy other music, so that is why it tends to be eclectic music. Sometimes each band member will come at a song from a very different place- sometimes it doesn't work, but sometimes it makes a song very unique.

-how did you get in touch with Bloodshot records?

met them years ago and thought they were good folks. glad to be a part of their family.

-do you especially ike the lyrics of one song in Bitter drink, bitter moon, if so, which one and why?

hmm i really like the lyrics of "My Hill". I love story songs that bring the listener in.

-which bands from your area would you recommend?

A band from our town that isn't around any more is called "The Coke Dares". Hilarous short songs, just pure garagy rock pop. A new band from nearby is called "We Are Hex". so amazing. like a female iggy pop.

-I saw you play in Barcelona, do you like touring Europe? are the shows a bit different than in the US?


I do like touring europe- i wish we were a little more popular, it would make things easier. We can't do everything we do in the usa over there, but we still get to enjoy the travel, the food, and the folks we meet. Spain has always been really fun for us.

-what is planned for Murder by death in the coming months?

we have a big USA/CANADA tour coming up this fall and we are hoping to get back to europe early next year.

-a final "full of wisdom sentence" to end the interview?

hmm. enjoy what you do!


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