Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
The Decemberists - Her Majesty CD (album) cover

HER MAJESTY

The Decemberists

 

Prog Folk

3.10 | 50 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk Researcher
4 stars The second studio album from the Decemberists doesn’t ‘wow’ me quite the way the first one did for some reason. This is most likely partly due to the novelty having worn off just a bit. Also Colin Meloy’s voice has ceased to be an aural adjustment, and can be enjoyed without the distraction of trying to figure out if he’s some kind of eastern European immigrant (he’s not) or gay (again, not) or an idiot savant or something (could be….).

The excellent attention to content in the lyrics is a strength once again though. Meloy was a creative writing major at the University of Montana, and his sister Maile is an accomplished writer herself. His long-time girlfriend is also an artist, and has done most of the band’s album covers, so there is no shortage of the expressive gene in his world.

This album features a few more eclectic and interesting instruments, including organist Rachel Blumberg on vibraphone and glockenspiel; the multi-talented guitarist Chris Funk on dobro, a pretty countrified pedal steel, and even behind the keyboards on an old Oberheim; the pleasantly goofy Jenny Conlee on all manner of keyboards plus her accordion; several string-playing guests; and of course Meloy himself behind the microphone with his acoustic guitar. Musically this album has a richer sound than ‘Castaways and Cutouts’, although a couple of tunes do wander back well inside the indie realm for a bit.

The opening “Shanty for the Arethusa” is just that – a sea shanty, with some fat steel guitar and an odd tale about some ne’er do wells on their way to Australia, presumably not of their own volition. A nice song but another picture of the seedier side of mankind from a guy who seems to dwell on these types of narratives for some reason.

“Billy Liar” would be featured on an EP a year later. This is a dirty little ditty about – well, remember “She Bop” from Cindy Lauper in the eighties? “Billy Liar's got his hands in his pockets, staring over at the neighbor's, knickers down - he's got his knickers down”. You get the idea, (the little pervert).

Then it’s on to one of those rather forgettable generic indie tunes with “Los Angeles, I’m Yours”. Other than the acoustic guitar and the clever instrumental bridge featuring strings and the Oberheim, this is not overall a particularly strong track. Same goes for “The Gymnast, High Above the Ground” really, although the percussion and mildly syncopated drumming are charming, and the female backing vocals are the same ones that I found so pleasant on “Grace Cathedral Hill” from the first album (Conlee I presume).

“The Bachelor and the Bride” features probably the Decemberist’s most callous and brutal lyrics, though their meaning is a bit unclear. Musically this is a rather tepid tune, but once again the words tell of a baby, apparently drowned, a barren bride, a her husband getting ready to don his wife-beaters. Really strange, though probably there is a literature geek among us who knows the source of this tale.

The Decemberists are often compared to R.E.M., particularly their first few albums before they got pretentiously weird. “Song for Myla Goldberg” is one reason why this is a reasonably valid comparison. Other than Conlee’s backing vocals, the rest of this song sounds like something right off of ‘Murmur’ or ’Reckoning’, and as near as I can tell the connection to Ms. Goldberg is tenuous at best.

At this point many sophomore efforts from bands start to introduce the filler tracks. Not so here. “The Soldiering Life” is a brothers-in-arms kind of ditty, singing the praises of the male bonding that facing the enemy in battle together can bring. Knowing this band, I think there is some sarcasm here, but whatever – it’s a nice tune, and the horns are a great touch at the end.

Another heavily acoustic track with “Red Right Ankle”, which is supposedly a love song from Meloy to his girlfriend, who is in fact a freckled redhead, so I guess this makes sense. Every band needs at least one love ballad I suppose, so check that one off the list.

“The Chimbley Sweep” drags out the pedal steel and lap guitar, as well as some odd keys (Oberheim, vibraphone – I have no idea). The organ is really cool – can’t think of a better word than that. This is another reason I think Meloy is a Vonnegut fan – there are these unimpressive, everyday characters who seem to recur throughout a lot of Meloy’s songs, both with the Decemberists and even in his earlier work with Tarkio. This was very much a Vonnegut trait. A really silly and kind of passively happy tune.

“I Was Meant for the Stage” was clearly written as a statement to Meloy’s family, who apparently did not approve of his career choice (I think his dad is a lawyer, and his sister was a Harvard graduate, so this surely isn’t what the family had in mind for their little Colin). This is his modern, folk, nerdy drama-club geek version of “Juke Box Hero”, “Know Who You Are”, and “I Did it My Way” wrapped into one. A musical life- affirmation. The band does this one from the stage on their concert DVD, and if the delivery doesn’t bring a lump to your throat and a tear to your eye, then you my sir are a heartless cad. I get goosebumps every time I hear it. Supertramp fans will understand for sure.

The finale comes with “As I Rise”, a little slide guitar, slow snares, honky-tonk piano, and the feel of Woodie Guthrie and maybe a little Grateful Dead too. A nice finish.

Like I said, this one doesn’t grab me the way the first album did, and there are a couple of less than awesome tracks, but still a very solid effort all around. “I Was Meant for the Stage” and “Shanty for the Arethusa” give it a bit of an extra bump. Four stars and well worth picking up.

peace

ClemofNazareth | 4/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this THE DECEMBERISTS review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.