Pitchfork

Life is full of surprises, they say. Call me jaded if you will, but I don't believe it. There are twists and turns, sure, but surprises? Most of us, we work all day, whether for our own edification or for hard-earned cash. We read and watch things, and get drunk and perhaps kiss someone, maybe even fall in and out of love. Nothing too eyebrow-raising. Alright, so maybe I'm just getting caught up in the bleak world of the Black Heart Procession. The Patriots, after all, beat the Rams in the last Super Bowl. That was a pleasant surprise. And the September 11th attacks were, in a blasphemous understatement, an unpleasant surprise. But some people even saw that coming, unfortunate as that certainly is.

Did anyone expect the Black Heart Procession's new album to sound like this, though? I'm willing to venture that few people who aren't in with the band expected such a departure. For one thing, the Procession have actually graced their latest work with a non-numerical title, as opposed to their first three albums: 1998's 1, 1999's 2, and 2000's 3. (Well, ok, Three was actually spelled instead of written numerically.) And then, there's the music. Now, the change from 3 to Amore del Tropico isn't so dramatic as the change from, say, OK Computer to Kid A, but there's no question that Amore is a much different sound and a very welcome progression from the dirges that graced their three previous full-lengths.

The Procession was once funereal through and through, keeping the same slow pace and lonely lyrics throughout. Here, however, they've taken their march somewhere south of the border. Judging from the instrumentation and odd flourishes, the narrator of Amore has ventured to a small Central American country of beauty and intrigue. Wherever he is, one thing's for sure: things are not going quite as planned. The first track, after all, is called "The End of Love", a 12-second instrumental spurt that introduces the listener to what will be a 55-minute tale of lost love and vengeful murder. The subsequent titular track, "Tropics of Love" (in translation), opens with the band's trademark instrument, the saw. But then deft strings and hip-swinging percussion set a sexy, noir-ish scene suffused with whispering men and crooning female gypsies. "Was it here where we left our hearts?" sings Pall Jenkins. "Was it here in the tropics of love?" Something bad is coming, if it hasn't come already.

Things are bit shady in Amore del Tropico's storyline, but like a good Lynch-style thriller, time doesn't clarify a damn thing. On "Broken World", the narrator seems to be resentfully coming to grips with his upended emotions. Accompanied by out-of-tune guitars and stumbling drums, Jenkins sings, "I know that you are through with me/ I know that you want to get rid of me/ I know that you have a plan for me/ I know that you want to torture me."

Meanwhile, other tracks, such as "The Visitor" and "A Cry for Love", indeed don't stray far from the Procession's heavy musical past. But then there's the airy Americana of "Why I Stay", the head-bobbing rock of "Did You Wonder", and the keyboard-driven "Sympathy Crime", with its touches of 70s prog, which seems to detail the narrator's murder of his former lover. As possible evidence, the next tracks offers: "You bleed, you blister in the sun/ You bleed for everyone." (There's also a drawing of a slain woman in the album art.) Yet, in the end, the narrator reveals that he is actually the "one who has disappeared."

Happy times, to be sure. But who would ever buy an album by a band called the Black Heart Procession and expect happiness, anyway? With this record, the band has taken a risky, ambitious leap forward, ditching the capable producer of their previous records, Ryan Hadlock, in favor of manning the boards themselves. The move has paid off in a dense, inspired musical narrative that should, dare I say, surprise fans old and new.