Distilling melancholy into music is a predominantly youthful pursuit. That's why the Black Heart Procession is such an interesting band. For more than 10 years, the San Diego group has offered mature, rehearsed takes on sepulchral imagery and somber themes, speaking with the voices of Poe and Lovecraft, rather than the histrionic tones of melodramatic teens. "When You Finish Me" starts things off with a macabre theater piece. The song tickles piano ivories and your sense of woe with cold, quiet precision. "Witching Stone" sounds like the Arcade Fire creating a horror soundtrack, while "Heaven and Hell" is a creepy dirge meant for a run-down lounge where killers, ghosts and jilted lovers share a drink. "Liar's Ink" is a haunted-house waltz for literal last dances and leads into the fuzzy, paranoid rocker "Suicide." There's a calculated execution to these songs. After six albums, TBHP have perfected a morbid restraint, ear for grand melodies and a sense of longing. — Matt Whelihan
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