Album Review: Me and That Man – Songs of Love and Death (Cooking Vinyl)

Behemoth frontman Nergal has teamed up with John Porter to unleash their debut album as Me and That Man. Songs of Love and Death is folk at its bluesiest. Out now from Cooking Vinyl.

Some tracks are amazingly catchy, such as the opener My Church Is Black. What a great introduction. With its slow and dirty rhythm, there is something sexy in its vibe. On The Road is foot tapping country rock that unsurprisingly would make a great addition to a road trip mix.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Die slowly trudges towards its chorus. Deep vocals give way to a female choir adding an extra element to this track. Better The Devil You Know makes great use of that old folk favourite, the fiddle. Female backing vocals really bring this song together. Listen to Magdalene and I defy anybody not to repeatedly sing the line ‘If I call your name’ randomly throughout the day.

Every song mentioned here is great, meaning that the songs not mentioned are not so great by comparison. It’s not so much that there are any bad tracks, more that this album suffers from repetitive beats and riffs. The outcome is that unfortunately it drags in places. If some of these tracks were interspersed between those of a much heavier album they would feel more impressive. At 13 tracks and around 46 minutes, a few could have been lost to bolster the impact of what really works.

Fans of the darker works of Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash will find this take on folk appealing. It is definitely worth a few listens before forming an opinion. Songs of Love and Death is a real grower. I recommend giving it a shot, you may find something you love…’If I call your name, if I call your name…’

Me and That Man – Songs of Love and Death Full Track Listing:

1. My Church is Black
2. Nightride
3. On the Road
4. Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
5. Better the Devil I Know
6. Of Sirens, Vampires and Lovers
7. Magdalene
8. Love & Death
9. One Day
10. Shaman Blues
11. Voodoo Queen
12. Get Outta This Place
13. Ain’t Much Loving