4.0/5.0
If you were to take a look at the back of the case of this album, you would see a faux-old-timey photo of the Decemberists. They look the type of band your dad may have played in; a grassroots, folky group that performs at all the family reunions. I couldn't help but find it amusing in that same familiar sense.
It's that familiar feel that is perpetuated throughout this album. You won't find any big orchestrations, or songs that sound like they have been layered with hundreds of tracks. This album was almost solely created with organic instrumentation, which is surprising considering their past records. Listen to The Crane Wife or The Hazards of Love and you've got two albums with strong storylines and scores from the rambling yet eloquently spoken Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy.
That isn't to say it's a bad thing-- it's hardly that. The album clearly marks a divergence from the standard storyboard albums. These are the songs written while just chilling in your house, and they're type of songs you would perform sitting on the front porch. The "Hymn" tracks ("January Hymn"/"June Hymn") are representative of this. Even though they are so incredibly basic in form, they still observe relaxing guitar melody intertwined with harmonica voices.
Even though this is a new style for the Decemberists, it still maintains Colin Meloy's songwriting sensibilities. My favorite track at the moment is "This Is Why We Fight," a ballad that makes plans to make you as solemn as the song itself-- a classic characteristic of songs by Colin. The last track on the album, "Dear Avery," doesn't have the power of "Sons & Daughters" but also serves as an all-encompassing track-- a throwback to classic Decemberists.
R.E.M.'s guitarist Peter Buck also helps in pushing this polished boulder of an album along, particularly with one of the album's most upbeat jams, "Calamity Song."
I would describe this album as a step forward for the Decemberists. Sure, the tracks appear to be attesting to the white person's sonic stereotype that is folk music. But the Decemberists can be marked down as one of the artists to have done it well and right with The King is Dead.
I don't understand--is it a throwback to classic Decemberists or a new style for them?
ReplyDeleteNot an unreasonable question, especially with the way I threw certain words around.
ReplyDeleteThe Decemberists' new album is definitely a new style, however certain ever-present Decemberist qualities (particularly in respect to Colin Meloy's song writing) are still maintained. This is new for them, but they're still the Decemberists.