The Decemberists have never been a band to shy away from something as intrinsically difficult to pull off as a concept album. Hell, for the most part, that is all they release. You can’t fault them necessarily. Their seeming erudition and focus on archaic language for language sake does seem to derive from some perceived want to distance themselves from other bands. After their last album, the underrated Hazards Of Love, was met with minor enthusiasm and guarded indifference, it seemed that the limits of their affectations had finally been reached, even diehard fans whispered quietly about the lack of emotional connection they felt for the record. And that is the very thing that The Decemberists records thrive at, that personal connection felt through all the pretense. For all their ambition, these albums feel small and personal, all the story songs and vague anecdotes only endear the listener more to Meloy and Co. There were always songs or sets of songs that felt as personal as a private journal kept by the band. But on their last album, the personality changed and became defensive and somewhat sinister, not what fans were really expecting, and so the album was relegated to the have-it-because-it’s-a-decemberists-record stack of various cd’s in your collection. How to maintain the goodwill still felt by their fans after that unfairly perceived misstep was something that I’m sure weighed heavily upon the band.
With the release of The King Is Dead, the Decemberists have reached back into American rural tradition and created their most straight forward, pretense-free album to date. They’ve bent the loose rules of country music and lent them a homely air of literacy. And while this may seem slightly disparate in terms of country music history and what history is detailed through the past Decemberists albums, Meloy and the rest of the band slip into their roles here as easily as on their best albums. Gliding along as effortlessly as ever, they ease through these songs like they’re traditionals, with everyone having known them for years. Songs like “January Hymn” and “This Is Why We Fight” showcase the beautifully swaying melodies we’ve come to expect from them and others like “Don’t Carry It All” and “Rise To Me” take many of country music’s beloved tropes and lace them with Meloy’s pensive, weary vocals to bring out a simple, yet effective, balance of pathos and insight, which is, after all, what a good country song should do. By forgoing the obvious, The Decemberists have created an ode to a simpler time, where the very worst of your worries could always be taken away by a song.
Tracklisting:
01. Don't Carry It All
02. Calamity Song
03. Rise To Me
04. Rox In The Box
05. January Hymn (listen to the mp3 below)
06. Down By The Water
07. All Arise!
08. June Hymn
09. This Is Why We Fight
10. Dear Avery
No comments:
Post a Comment