What is an artist to do when their words lose meaning? The Murder Capital hopes to find out, not by navigating their work in some wildly different way, but by discussing the very matter. Self-reflection from a band around for a decade is a sign of the times. Much like Tim Heidecker did on Slipping Away last year, looking at the creative process as a necessity, not a liberation, is a new tone for musicians to take. It makes all the difference in the lead-up to Blindness, The Murder Capital’s third album. Words Lost Meaning is a world away from their lead single, Can’t Pretend to Know, though thematically they do share the indifference and hopes of rekindled passions. It makes the very core of Words Lost Meaning, and in doing so, makes all the difference for this grunge-adjacent single.
Straight-shooting punk rock is untapped. No frills, bass-led pieces where Christ is left undisturbed and the loveless nights take hold. Something as monotone as this provides The Murder Capital with some insightful thrills. Modern punk may feel presumptuous at times. Like it has something else to prove, another genre to smuggle in because it’s not enough to stand tall in an overflowing style. Words Lost Meaning does, though. It stands tall in a place where Wire and Pixies progressed beyond the need for a simpler routine, yet remained there for the sake of emotional clarity. In that routine is complacency, tones of repetition that are navigated expertly by frontman James McGovern’s lyrics. These moments may have breached the fold but they stick to broader tones, letting the emotive core pour into the space in-between. Punk spirit never really left The Murder Capital, though it did feel abandoned on Gigi’s Recovery. Those brighter flourishes are tucked away now, with whining instrumentals creating a grand, moody cacophony in its place.
Words Lost Meaning is reliant on that momentum. The steely and reserved sounds of a band prodding at the punk carcass, trying to get movement out of a long-dormant legend. Punk has spun off into sub-genres of intense and exciting qualities, to tie Words Lost Meaning to the unchanged fundamentals of the genre is bold in a reflective sense. Blindness sounds like it is taking those tones of reflection on board, and The Murder Capital is all the better for it. But then that tie to punk feels like a contrast to the struggles of faith so far found in their music, particularly Words Lost Meaning. An abject experience bounds through this, disguised as grunge-like in its tone by some sharp instrumental play. But again, the contrast is key. Heartfelt moments of discussing a loss in faith or hope is right there at the core.
In the microscopic moments of Words Lost Meaning is a lack of recognition of the wider picture. The Murder Capital has this dedication to the smaller pockets of life, and it makes their work all the stronger. Those hotel encounters and dizzying moments where the mind is playing tricks, seeding the horrors of doubt and sensitivity, are just one of those many faithless nights. Words Lost Meaning is an exceptional attempt at explaining a loss not just of definition but refinement. An anguish not for what was lost but for what is in the process of being lost. Words have impact. We should remember this. What we say is permanent. What we do afterwards may renege or devolve the words, but they do not replace them. They are an extension. The Murder Capital finds this in a moody high point of their work so far.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
