Church Of The Red Museum - Church Of The Red Museum

(Manup)

A year-old band made up of Columbus veterans, CotRM recorded this debut within the first few months of their birth. A salty mix of macabre themes and Tin Pan Alley-greased melodies, the record's darkened cavorting recalls that of The Gun Club, Man Man, and The Starvations. Lyrically there's a certain amount of blood thirst mixed in with singer Brian Travis' woes about life and love. It gives the record teeth, making Travis' indictments more spiteful than wallowing. With the up-swell of the six-piece band's mixed organic sounds matching the emotional crescendos and denouements measure for measure, this record is as much thrilling as it is chilling.