For a band that has built its formidable, nearly 15-yearstrong career around a meticulous consideration for the effects of pressure, release, bombast, ecstasy, and highest-highs vs. lowest-lows, it is something to say that Big Dark Love is Murder By Death’s most dynamic release to date.

On their seventh full-length album and first since their 2012 Bloodshot debut Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, the band’s signature rootsy indie rock, cinematic gothic ballads, and rousing pub rock shout-alongs mix with enlivening new stylistic elements: touches of pop, synth-y electronics, and psych rock that were only hinted at on previous albums.

Thematically, Big Dark Love reflects a different, bigger, and more complex side of Murder By Death. These 10 songs circle a central theme of love, only in this case, the oft-covered topic is approached both unconventionally and diversely: the love of a parent for their child, the struggle between unconditional love and morality, and loving to excess. Throughout these songs, as in life, there can sometimes be a dusky patina of despair overlaying the glints of hope.

There is a palpable tension inherent in this balancing act between the melancholic and the inspirational (much like signature Spiritualized or Morphine) and textures both synthetic and authentic, utilized here in a way that late ‘90s era Flaming Lips hadn't quite figured out yet.