Murder By Death - Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon

The new one by a Bloomington favorite, "My Hill", sets the tone as something way more dark than the whiskey soaking that we started at with MBD's last release. The band stays with a less-celebratory feel throughout. The old country folk storytelling is still there, but we're not getting the yarns about waking up in your own drunken piss. Instead, we get Cold Mountain descriptions of walking through the woods to find a home or a love.

And that's still fine. "Straight at the Sun" still gets the listener going with trotting bass line. And then "I Came Around" - while taking place a a funeral, still turns itself to celebration of a life that was only appreciated once it was gone.

But the remainder, while good, is still more of the same. MBD haven't transposed their spaghetti western epic into anyhing that's thematically broader. I like the sounds, but the songs still never climb out of the ditch dug by the ditch-digging protagonist. My advice is to pick up your cello and hit the city lights. (3 of 5 stars)