The Decemberists - need advice

Wow, I just sampled a song from their latest album on their Myspace... sounds good, I'm impressed.

Thanks for that recommendation.  Sorry I can't answer your question, though.

Moatilliatta wrote: They get more progressive with every album it seems. The first two are pretty much folky-indie rock, and picareque has a few proggy moments, but they are all still unique and inventive. The first thing you should check out, however, is the single "The Tain." It is one 18-minute suite, and a darn good one. I love each of their releases the same really, and I recommend you check them out. If you're not too big on indie rock, you may want to sample some of the tracks before you buy them. I don't know what sites feature full-length mp3s of theirs, but someone's got to have them.

http://www.myspace.com/thedecemberists

Thanks for mentioning the other thread, Clem, that helped, and thanks to everyone for your recommendations.

I'm definitely going to get The Tain, and I'll probably end up getting the other 3 LP's.

I'm still curious to hear any further opinions, though, particularly those differentiating the non-crane-wife albums (i.e. "picaresque is the best, get it first" or something like that).

Hi there,

I'm a long-time Decemberists fan here. I first heard their song "The Tain" on a college station on the radio around here--got interested, and wound up being a huge fan (I have all their albums).

Glad to see that you're not afraid to post about them =)

I'll try and give a little rundown on what I believe the albums have to offer, though by no means take them to be definitive--I love it when my friends have different opinions on my favorite music:

Castaways and Cutouts : Released in 2002 and then re-released in 2003 by Kill Rock Stars, C&C is The Decemberists' first album and a fine example of their quirky lyrics and folky sound. As the title implies, the album seems to be a compilation of short scenes from various people's lives. It moves from the first track Leslie Anne Levine with its haunting lyrics and lazily bright guitar, to a more upbeat and rocking tempo of July, July!. C&C has a broad range of musical qualities, incorporating lullibies (A Cautionary Song), allusions (Odalisque, Grace Cathedral Hill), and laments of the all-around disallusioned souls that litter the album's track listing. An excellent album with some odd recording issues (On the song July, July!the vocals seem to be much closer to the microphone than the rest of the band) but a solid choice none the less.

Her Majesty : Released by Kill Rock Stars in 2003, Her Majesty is The Decemberists second full-length album. Much like The Decemberists' first album, Her Majesty presents a broad range of the band's progressive folk-rock style ranging from upbeat to languid and abyssmal. Songs like The Gymnast, High Above the Ground and The Chimbly Sweep are excellent examples of Colin Meloy's range of vocal qualities. His expressiveness, coupled with the band's distinctive qualities of sound and tone, allow for a vivid view of the narrarator's attitude. This is my least favorite album, but that does not mean I do not like it. I feel that this album was less impacting as the first because it is more of the same (which is good) and fails to stray from the band's comfort zone. It is definately a good album, but Castaways would trump this selection for me.

Picaresque : Released by Kill Rock Stars in 2005, Picaresque is perhaps my favorite Decemberists album. The guitarcraft is stunning, and coupled with the hypnotizing keyboards and rhythm techniques, the band is simply flawless. Songs like Eli The Barrow Boy and We Both Go Down Together display the simplistic genious of The Decemberists' like never seen before in previous albums. This album also has possibly my favorite Decemberists song, The Mariner's Revenge Song which tells the tale of a poor soul who's mother was played by an old sea dog. It goes on to tell of his subsequent revenge through the method of stupendous accordion and building tempo. Many songs on this album have become The Decemberists' staple concert lineup (The Mariner's Revenge Song, 16 Military Wives, The Infanta). Definately my favorite album, and I highly recommend it.

The Crane Wife : Released earlier this year under a new label, Capitol Records, this album was #35 on USA Billboard 200 charts. Chris Walla from Death Cab for Cutie helped produce it and for this reason I feel that the album has recieved more notoriety than before (that and the move from Kill Rock Stars to Capitol Records). I feel that this album is definately a declaration of the band's progressive tendencies. Unfortunately, I feel that many people see this album as an Indie-Rock production rather than Progressive because of its enjoyability and ease of listening. The most progressive track on this album is The Island with three parts (Come and See, The Landlord's Daughter, You'll Not Feel the Drowning) and each split by tempo and dramatic keyboard and guitar melodies. This has quickly become my second favorite Decemberists album with tracks like O Valencia! and The Perfect Crime being some of the furthest reaches in the Decemberists' multifarious style.

There have also been several singles and EP's released, those being: 5 Songs, The Tain, Billy Liar, 16 Military Wives, Picaresqueities (With previously unreleased Picaresque songs), and Connect Sets (Live versions of The Crane Wife songs). All of these are worth listening to, if you can get your hands on them.

So, being a huge Decemberists fan, I hope you find as much enjoyment out of the band as I have and will spread the word to support the BAND!


Edit: On a related note, The Decemberists have been known to cover several songs (Some progressive, some otherwise) during their concerts. You can see some of these on YouTube such as this one:


    Decemberists doing Mr. Blue Sky by ELO
    

Edited by CalamityDaemon - December 25 2006 at 18:11

Freak wrote: I'm about to receive Picaresque from a friend today, so I'll tell you all how it is! The Crane Wife is definitely one of the Top Five of the year. The thing is, people say that it's their favorite non-prog album of the year, but it was the proggiest album I bought all year (save a couple of live albums from Fish & Marillion)! I think that The Decemberists could be considered prog easily, I mean... their music progresses! Is that not what progressive music is?

Edited by heyitsthatguy - December 27 2006 at 13:12