Thoughts of a Jacobean goth, perhaps?
So what's in a name? In the case of Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds, quite a lot. In much the same way that Girls Aloud and Metallica more or less sum up sugary, female driven pop and rather fast heavy metal, Lupen Crook, by his name, sounds like he is a seven foot tall, stick thin man with pale skin and raven black, greasy hair, lifted straight out of a Dickensian nightmare and the Murderbirds conjure up imagery of early Disney era crows, ever knowing and ever conspiratorial who will pretend to be your friend but, ultimately, will always be on the side of darkness. And you know what? “Iscariot the Ladder” sounds like the above descriptions. What we have is a theatrically bonkers album delivered by cartoon characters, but with more in common with the vaudevillian clowns and devils than the silly pomp of the Scissor Sisters. But does that necessarily make for an enjoyable listening experience?
Things certainly set themselves up early in “Iscariot the Ladder”. “Cackle of the Clown” starts with underplayed acoustic guitar and haunted vocals before giving way to extremely enjoyable and sinister noise. Although the rest of the album does not quite reach the heights of this excellent opening track, it does keep the mood consistent and does engage you into entering the world of the band. True, there is a bit of unnecessary swearing and the overall sound does grate a little by the end of the album, but, it has to be said, that just in terms of weirdness and for their balls to move away from the norm, “Iscariot the Ladder” comes with a healthy dollop of recommendation.
As with all good albums, “Iscariot the Ladder” feels very much like a whole piece of creative work rather than a hodge podge of ill matched songs with little in common with each other. Although previously mentioned it must be stressed that this is one of those albums that will send your mind into an imaginary land or world and keep you there, interesting, for the duration. If that isn't enough, Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds have also produced an album of sheer, shameless fun that is packed with surprises and twists. “Split and Differences” starts off as being a rather in key counterpoint on the album • good but a bit so-so • and then you are hit with a horn section. There are moments like this peppered all over “Iscariot the Ladder”, though it is never overdone, giving weight rather than saturation.
Of course, “Iscariot the Ladder” is not perfect. The sounds are good yes, but the vocal performances from Mr Crook are somewhat limited and vary little from song to song. However, this doesn't hamper your listen by much • after all, Michael Stipe has pretty much made a living doing this. The main problem with “Iscariot the Ladder” is simply that it, by its very nature, will not have mass appeal. But fuck that. If you get on board and listen to it then its hard to resist its charms. So draw the curtains, light the fire and dim the lights, because Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds are coming to kill, sorry, thrill you.