Hungry Sally and Other Killer Lullabies

TITO AND TARANTULA stretch out beyond the dark blues idiom they explored to the depths on Tarantism, though tracks like "Bleeding Roses" are no less dark or moody. "Love in My Blood" is obviously a Gun Club homage from the opening, unwieldy chords to the lyric "For the love of Ivy..."; "My German Fraulein" doesn't even try to hide its resemblance to Link Wray. Tito is a charmer with his recorder; even complete monstrosities, like the meandering and nonsensical title song (a parable incorporating Biblical and sci-fi imagery) end up sounding likable in Larriva's hands. — Denise Sullivan.