
When Colin Meloy sings about the gruesome Shankill Butchers, he does it with a rakish grin and a wink that lets you know it's all in fun. Marry a similar fascination with the macabre to accordion and strings in the gypsy style of Beirut; trade rainy, grey Portland for frigid, grey Minneapolis; and add Nona Marie Invie's lilting vocals, and now you have the ensemble of Dark Dark Dark . Their first full-length, The Snow Magic , dresses ghosts, graves, and other gloomy subjects in jaunty three-quarter time melodies. What little percussion appears is provided by [...]