THE HAZARDS OF LOVE

This dainty album grew out of frontman Colin Meloy's fascination with 1960s British folk music. Eschewing the elaborate, often convoluted arrangements on THE CRANE WIFE, The Hazards of Love blends to-the-roots folk compositions with near operatic grandiloquence.

In typical Decemberists fashion, Hazards is centered around a ludicrously eccentric yet characteristically dour narrative - this time following a pregnant Margaret searching for her shape-shifting forest-dwelling animal lover William as a jealous forest queen and lascivious rake run interference. While a fresh breath from the angst and introspection of their contemporaries, the whimsical baroque storytelling is ridiculous at best and distracting at worst.

Musically, the record is primarily driven by acoustic guitar and vocals (both male and female represent the albums ''characters''). Electric guitar is occasionally thrown into the mix and organ is regrettably relegated to a background instrument, rarely given the opportunity to carry a melody. Eclectic instruments like accordion, banjo, and some odd keys are sprinkled throughout. However, the band is either not technically adept or musically adventurous enough to harmonize the wide pallet of instrumentation they have chosen. Prelude, the only organ centered song is a throwaway intro track. Isn't It A Lovely Night likewise sticks to a frumpy accordion/vocal line and does not explore beyond this simple relationship. The result is a collection of one-dimensional folk songs that derive their depth from contrast with other songs and how they piece into the overall scheme of the album.

Yet even on this note the album falls short. There are perhaps 3 or 4 main musical themes for an hour of music. What undoubtedly was an attempt at melodic consistency begot grating repetition. The Abduction of Margaret is an almost note-for-note copy of A Bower Scene and the four Hazards of Love' songs follow the same melody and chord progressions. While the attempt to generate thematic and musical consistency is appreciated, this attempt overwhelms the natural flow and consequently overall enjoyment of the album.

As a fellow reviewer noted for their debut album, it seems like the Decemberists know what they want to do but aren't quite sure how to do it. This appears to be the case on their fifth release as well. That being said, this record will be of interest to an insatiable Decemberist fan - if one can stand the sophomoric humour and perfunctory compositional style that is.

Newcomers are better off exploring their high-caliber early catalog - Castaways and Cutouts, The Crane Wife, and The Tain EP - to get a taste for this group's potential before checking out this letdown.

2 Stars / C-

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