Notes on a Thursday

What do you do after you have created one of the best concept albums/concert experiences ever conceived? If you are Colin Meloy and the Decemberists, you do an about-face and head in the other direction. On January 18th, 2011 the Decemberists released The King is Dead in the US. It boasts collaborations with R.E.M's Peter Buck and Gillian Welch, which are immediately apparent in the wailing mouth organ pieces and the structure of the guitar work. But at its core it maintains everything that is the Decemberists and everything that their fans love about them. The lyrics are yet again in rare form, as they always are. Colin Meloy is an amazing wordsmith, with lines like "Don't Carry it All's" 

"Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
lay its head on summer's freckled knees"

Completely without concept, the songs are pretty gems dropped one after the other, yet still strong and solid and well-written.

"Rise to Me" is a simply amazing song, that I'm not sure I can talk about. It has steel slide guitars, amazing harmonies . . . a good country feel to it, without being too much so. I like that it has a slow tempo, that seems assured and strong like mountains, rather than angry and fast and hard. 

"June Hymn" and the entire album really, makes me want it to be spring and early summer, and drives with the windows down, and frisbee in the park, and picnics, and . . . it's supposed to snow tonight. dammit.

"This is why we fight" has the percussion-strength and tempo to remind us so subtly of The Hazards of Love, a sign that they are moving forward and evolving as a group, rather than simply returning to what they do best as some may claim. Also, the bass line is addictive and amazing, if you focus on it. 

Overall, they have impressed me, yet again. Though I'm not at all surprised. 

Other (better) reviews from legitimate sources:

Pitchfork
Paste (Andrew Leahey talks about how the songs are autobiographical and personal . . . I don't particularly know anything about that, but I'm also one of those "just let the music do its thing" people)


Interviews:


(I swear I didn't listen to this before I wrote this blog post. Seriously. I promise.)
NPR's All Things Considered

Listen to the entire album played live in Portland yesterday, here