Cargo Records

Drumming For Pistols

Drumming for Pistols, Puerto Muerto’s swashbuckling new full-length, is not for the faint of heart. In the words of singer/percussionist Christa Meyer, the title track is “basically a call to arms. I wanted the song to evoke thoughts of revolution, without specifically referencing the subject.” Equal parts sweet and sour, swagger and swoon, the album’s 13 cuts range from the ragtag-circus chantey “Beautiful Women With Shining Black Hair” (featuring Devil in a Woodpile associate Gary Schepers on tuba), to the delirious bilingual stomper “Tanze,” to the sinister swamp-dirge “Song of the Moon” (bolstered by John Londay’s exquisitely filthy guitar solo).

“The Bell Ringer,” a tender art song inspired by Werner Herzog subject Bruno Stroszek, has a ragged opulence, rife with stately strings supplied by Tiffany Kowalski (Bright Eyes, Head of Femur) and handbells, which Meyer rang from a marble staircase for just the right touch of reverb. Other highlights include the rousing, intricately arranged anthem “Arcadia,” which Meyer says is about “the corruption and the fallacy of the American dream,” and “Tamar,” a grimy gospel-tinged rocker ripped from the pages of the Old Testament. “Tamar” was originally written for the compilation Sacred Music for Worrying Times. “We wanted to find the most fucked-up biblical story we could,” guitarist/co-vocalist Tim Kelley explains. “We liked the song so much that we had to put it on this album, too.” While Drumming for Pistols delivers all the elements that fans of the Chicago-based duo have grown to love—the chameleon-like range of Meyer’s classically trained mezzo-soprano, Kelley’s rough but supple baritone, well-constructed songs that seamlessly incorporate influences spanning Kurt Weill and the Clash—the total effect transcends expectations.

According to Kelley, producer/engineer Jamie Carter—whose résumé includes work with TV on the Radio—deserves a lot of the credit: “He inspired and pushed us to use real instruments and not rely on effects or computer fixes.” “I think that Christa and I have both grown as musicians, and we’re trying to respect our craft a little bit more,” he notes. “We’ve also been lucky enough to work with some wonderful musicians.” In addition to Londay, Kowalski, and Schepers, Gary James (Box of Baby Birds), John Furman (the Cells), and Carter also lent their instrumental expertise. For Meyer Drumming for Pistols’ tone has a subjective aspect as well: “Writing and recording this album came during one of the most emotionally turbulent periods of my life. There was a feeling of dissolution, of breaking down completely—and the celebration of life as it teetered on the edge of destruction was an interesting subject to explore.” Not surprisingly, their marriage is another important factor. “It’s strange and beautiful at the same time,” Kelley confesses. “For a lot of guys in bands, I think that music is a separate experience, a guy thing, that they compartmentalize into a different world where wives and girlfriends are not invited. For us it’s an exploration of our relationship as well as a kind of therapy that brings us together.” “Although the album is very dark in tone in many respects, I think it is a celebration of the changing nature of life and of love,” Meyer explains. “We drew from many different sources in this album (biblical, literary, cinema), and I think this broadens its scope. We wanted the experience of listening to the record to be like watching a movie without dialogue.” Kelley puts it bluntly: “I like to rock out, and think we did that a little bit here.”