Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today I’ve a very specific pick to share: the song that plays during the end credits of the fourth expansion for Borderlands 3.
Borderlands 3’s string of downloadable content has been hit or miss. In fact, the looter-shooter’s fourth major narrative expansion, Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck (YouTube / longplay / VGMdb), is mostly a miss. But the end-credits song, “Blood Blood Blood,” by Canadian rockers The Creepshow, is a home run.
I’m a little late to the party, I know, but I finally wrapped up the Fantastic Fustercluck over the weekend. The campaign itself—a foul-tasting smoothie of mental health tropes, recycled environments, and bullet-sponge boss fights—likely won’t stick with me. And yet, I’ve had “Blood Blood Blood” on repeat now for, like, 48 hours. Yes, it’s one of those songs. Take a listen:
Stomp Records / The Creepshow (YouTube)
Maybe I’m just a sucker for sultry female vocals (I am) or swoon whenever a song mixes twangy acoustic guitar and crunchy distorted riffs (also true). Whatever the case, “Blood Blood Blood” hits all the right spots. It also dovetails neatly with The Fantastic Fustercluck’s thematic elements and narrative arc. (For spoilers, just scroll through the comments of that YouTube video.) But “Blood Blood Blood” also hits a very specific spot—one that, in 2020, has been sorely missed.
Let’s say you score tickets to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; they’re playing at your local mid-sized venue. You’re pumped, you show up early, certainly earlier than they’re set to start. A band comes on stage. You’ve never heard of them. You just want Karen O to rock your face off. At first, you’re a little impatient, irritated even, hoping the opener rips through that requisite four-song setlist so you can get to the good stuff.
Then they start playing.
It’s a feeling live music fans know all too well: a profound realization that’s tough to put into words but can generally be summed up as “Holy shit.” Suddenly, you couldn’t care less about seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. You just want this band to encore until the authorities shut it down.
Before completing The Fantastic Fustercluck I’d never heard of The Creepshow. Turns out, the rest of their songs are solid as hell, too. (Some recs: “Death at My Door,” “The Garden,” “Sticks & Stones,” and “A.O.T.B.H.”) I’ll jump at the chance to see them IRL—when we’re allowed to do such things, of course—hopefully as a headliner. Maybe, in this lofty hypothetical I’ve concocted, those of us in the audience will even get treated to a tremendous opening act.
I don’t have much more here, to be honest. “Blood Blood Blood” is just a terrific, transportative song that’s worth putting on repeat. That’s the last thing I expected to take away from Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck.
That’s it for today’s Morning Music—and, also, this week’s. Owing to the extended holiday we’ll be taking a break until next Monday. Have you ever been surprised by a musical act live? What are you eating tomorrow? Can I have your leftovers? Fire off in the comments, and feel free to keep jabbering away here until normal service resumes. Hope you have a safe, pleasant holiday!