Something about the combination of a band named murdermart, an album titled Cowboys Live Forever, and minimalist artwork in a graffiti-type font, was irresistible to me. It’s a disarming combo; what was I supposed to expect? There’s certainly plenty of irony around the concept of cowboys, there are acts like Bilmuri and Lucero incorporate country elements into heavier forms of rock, and the artwork had signs of experimental pop like 100 gecs.

murdermart is an eclectic band; there’s a core modern indie pop sound, but, depending on the track and particular mix of FOUR unique vocalists, tracks take on forms of post-punk (“COLLEEN’S PLACE”), saxophone insanity reminiscent of “Jason” by The Midnight (“GOOD LUCK AND GOODNIGHT”), post-hardcore and emo (“SWEAT MULLET”), modulated lofi pop (“BIG SLEEPY”), and even bits of country (“HORSEBACK”).

If this sounds like a lot, rest assured it is. But here’s the strange thing: murdermart seem to have cracked some unspoken code on having multiple vocalists that has largely been confined to the hip-hop realm. Each of the four men get time in the spotlight, sometimes for a single verse, other times for a whole track, elsewhere helping with backing vocal responsibilities. Each of their voices is unique and adds a particular dynamic to each section of an amorphous album – but the combination of changing voices and styles somehow feels more cohesive than if only one vocalist was handling everything. Punk elements make sense because one member can handle screaming; the country elements naturally flow from yet another vocalist’s more restrained delivery. The mystery of who’s going to take the next verse or chorus adds to the fun, and the whole cast is truly great at what they do. Not many groups can pull off the shift from “GOOD LUCK AND GOODNIGHT” to “SWEAT MULLET” in a way that makes sense, but I can genuinely say they’re both highlights from the record.

Sometimes, the vocal differences are more subtle – it was only after a dive through Bandcamp credits and Genius lyrics where I was able to pinpoint just how many different people were involved. Four vocalists isn’t a common thing for many bands, but it avoids some of the problems I have with dual-lead bands. Typically, the songs feel less uniform and I end up preferring one vocalist over the other. But when you pass that threshold and throw convention out the window, the result is freeing. murdermart’s core songwriters remain the same, but the tracks are varied enough to the point it never feels like one member has his fingerprints on them too clearly. Maybe murdermart only jokingly references boybands in their Spotify bio, but it’s clear that their take on the multi-vocalist format paired with genre-touring songs has amazing potential.