Thee Missouri
w/Graham Travis, Pat Kearney
Tues June 14, High Dive, 9:30 pm, $5.
w/Downpilot, Sanford Arms, Fey Ray
Wed June 15, Sunset, 9 pm, $5.

If you've ever sat alone in a smoke-filled tavern and sought redemption in a bottle of cheap whiskey, you'll immediately recognize the mood of In VoodooRama, the third full-length album from Nuremberg, Germany's Thee Missouri. The quartet's bluesy pedal steel guitar and eerie electronic organ create a compelling confluence of spiritual hope and emotional despair that asks to be compared to Nick Cave's Boatman's Call. But where Cave often sounds like the fiery preacher, Thee Missouri's vocalist (simply named Red) sings more like a guilt-ridden sinner. "Get me away from here before I drop to the floor/Get me away from here before I drink some more, babe" he croons on "Sooner or Later They'll Get Any of Us."

Sins-committed for the love of a woman or committed against her-compel the lyrics on this album. And sometimes the desperate search for salvation ends in fear and regret, as in the case of the band's cover of Ray Stevens's comic murder ballad "Laughing Over My Grave." The original song was a darkly amusing tale of a wife driven to murderous revenge, but Thee Missouri transform it into a genuinely creepy goth-a-billy dirge.

The tracks slink from vengeance to seduction, though, especially on "You and Voodoo" with its reverb guitar echoing that classic 1950s Sun Studio sound. In fact, In VoodooRama feels so steeped in Americana you may forget Thee Missouri are from Germany. As if to avoid any disorientation, the band occasionally inject energetic synth lines and beat-box rhythms more reminiscent of German electro into songs like the provocative techno-pop of "Let's Get Married" and the melancholy soul of "If They Ever Steal Your Amazing Grace." This seemingly foreign collision of American roots music and European electronica works effortlessly.

While the eclectic musical mix adds a little levity, the upbeat moments are short-lived. Eventually the disc descends into the mournful prayer of the final track, "Lord I'm Ready," where Red sings with a bit of Mick Jagger in his voice, "I feel alien to this world/To this life." Here's hoping the Lord will be merciful to this wounded soul.

editor@thestranger.com