We All Raise Our Voices to the Air! - A Decemberists Thread

[Kevin Davis]

For me there's "Castaways" and "Her Majesty" (and "The Tain," if that counts) and then there's the rest of 'em. To my ears those early records have a jubilant sense of quaintness about them that -- starting with "Picaresque" but really settling in on "Crane Wife" -- was gradually lost to an unearned air of literary importance, and -- more significantly -- a dash of empathy and sweetness ("heart," one might say) that was diminished by an increased tendency towards ironic detachment and rote storytelling-for-its-own-sake. They've made a lot of great songs since then but ultimately it's those first two albums that hit that sweet spot for me. I liked that "King is Dead" looked ahead to something less tethered to the singular tics and quirks of the band's repertoire -- up until that point (for as much as I ultimately liked "Hazards"), it seemed like the tics and quirks were poised to take over. I view "King" as a renaissance of sorts and it gives me a new sense of optimism about the band's future -- we'll see what happens when the new album lands in the mailbox.

Dct, we should do a "LAL -- Decemberists edition" after the new record has been out for a while. You in?

[Kevin Davis]

The Hazards of Love has probably aged the worst for me. I loved it when it dropped. And I still think some of their best work is on that record. But I find myself reaching for it less and less.

I can get with this. I play this once a year or so, the same way I would throw on a movie. It's well-done, and it impresses me; it engages my senses and, occasionally, my mind -- but it has less to connect to than anything else in their catalog.

[epilogue]

Dct, we should to a "LAL -- Decemberists edition" after the new record has been out for a while. You in?

I'm 100% in!

I've been listening to the new album a lot. I'm really excited to hear your thoughts. If I had to guess, I'd say you're going to really like it. But I've been wrong before. And our Decemberists tastes tend to skew just enough that I could see you going the other way, too. But whatever.

I'll definitely do an LAL. Please and thank you.

[Mike]

a LAL would be fun. prepare for thoughtful insight like "i like this song" and "i don't really get this song" from me.

[Bob Loblaw]

Just listened to the new one. Holy shit. It may be their best ever.

[Bob Loblaw]

I want to have Lake Song's babies.

[Kevin Davis]

I love it too -- my favorite thing they've done in a long time. "Lake Song" is sublime.

[Dscans]

My initial reaction is that there are a lot of good songs on here. But they're songs that any band could have written. I enjoy it, but so what? I doubt this will age well and I'll end up finding it unremarkable.

Of course I felt that way about The King is Dead and I just listened to it the other day and loved it more than I remember loving it.

[Bob Loblaw]

It's just a very tight album. Not spectacular or groundbreaking, but very mature and superbly executed. The arrangements are exactly at the right level--not too pretty, not too bland. The songwriting is tight as fuck. The melodies are sweet. If you're looking for the perfect Decemberists distillation, this is it.

[Kevin Davis]

My initial reaction is that there are a lot of good songs on here. But they're songs that any band could have written.

I remember having this same grumble when "Crane Wife" came out -- compared to the theatrical dirges and chanteys of their early records, I thought songs like "Crane Wife 3" and "Yankee Bayonet" and "O Valencia" and "When the War Came" and "Summersong" sounded like fairly conventional pop/rock songs with relatively generic alt-rock arrangements that could have been made by any competent band with similar inclinations. But I relate to this criticism less and less as time goes on -- I understand why one would be tempted to employ it, but ultimately it seems unreasonable to fault a piece of work for not being different enough from something which only exists hypothetically. There are a lot of great songs that someone else theoretically "could have written," in that they aren't beyond the scope of another artist's technical ability and are in a common musical language that transcends the quirks of any singular performer's personality. But that's like those people who try to downplay the import of "Sgt. Pepper" by saying things like, "Well, if the Beatles hadn't done it, someone else would have" -- which may be true hypothetically, but what point does it prove exactly?

A group like the Decemberists seems to me to be in a sort of no-win situation: Either they spend their entire career writing over-the-top theater pieces about sailors and murderous prostitutes, in which case they will be accused of retread and self-parody, or they throw themselves full-throttle into something altogether different but equally distinct, in which case they will be seen as disingenuous pretenders. And if they do as they've done and simply become -- as Bob Loblaw says -- an older, wiser, more sophisticated if less ambitious version of themselves, they are accused of sounding generic and indistinguishable from a bunch of hypothetical other artists who don't tangibly exist but if they did almost surely would have come up with the same material (or something similar enough) first. Compare this to a group like Sleater-Kinney, who seem like they could just do what they do forever and earn raves every time out. An unfair business these guys have themselves tangled up in here.

My own take on this album is very similar to Bob L's -- I like how the moderate weathering of Colin's voice infuses it with a sharper sense of knowing -- had he tackled a song like "Lake Song" ten years ago, it would have felt callow (or as Stip might say, "unearned"). I like how the band feels like they're really playing the songs -- generating fills instinctively, comping improvisationally in small capacities -- rather than rigidly reciting arrangements (apparently in their off-time the non-Colin band members play Dead covers, and the organic feel of that approach to rock band ensemble playing is really on display here). The songwriting perfectly splits the difference between the sort of everyday balladry of "The King is Dead" and the absurd yarn-spinning they're known for (how "Philomena" could sound like a song that "any band could have written" is beyond me). This is overall probably my favorite thing they've done since "Her Majesty."

[epilogue]

It's just a very tight album. Not spectacular or groundbreaking, but very mature and superbly executed. The arrangements are exactly at the right level--not too pretty, not too bland.

The acoustic guitar interplay on 'Till the Water's All Long Gone' is fucking inspired. Colin and Chris both sound fantastic. The balance is amazing and hypnotic and evocative. I get chills listening to those guitars rubbing away at each other.

I've been listening to this for a few months now, and I can't pick a favorite. But 'Till the Water's All Long Gone' is up there. Just a perfect Decemberists song.

[epilogue]

Also, Kevin Davis, this is easily my favorite since 'The Crane Wife.' I have it ranked FIRMLY at number 3 on the list, with a real chance of moving up a spot or two given time.

So glad you guys are digging it as much as I am. I LOVE this record.

[Bob Loblaw]

This is their "we're fully matured musicians and are in a really awesome place and we know what our thing is and we're doing it better than ever and we don't need to prove anything to anyone anymore and now that we've blown your mind we can quietly go have a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with salmon in it and share our shoestring fries" album.

Sadly, it can only go downhill from here.

[epilogue]

Once I heard it I reflected on Colin's thoughts about REM's final album, how it sounded like a final album when he first heard it, before they officially announced retirement. I got a similar feeling from this. I don't think it's their last album, but it has the feel of a fully realized piece, as you say, that COULD be their last word.

And I'd probably be okay with it. It would suck. But IF this became their final album, it would be hard to be upset with the way they went out.

[epilogue]

Then again, I never thought they could top The Crane Wife. And maybe they just did. So....

[Alex]

i really need to listen to this soon

[Bob Loblaw]

Once I heard it I reflected on Colin's thoughts about REM's final album, how it sounded like a final album when he first heard it, before they officially announced retirement. I got a similar feeling from this. I don't think it's their last album, but it has the feel of a fully realized piece, as you say, that COULD be their last word.

And I'd probably be okay with it. It would suck. But IF this became their final album, it would be hard to be upset with the way they went out.

I also hope they don't quit, but I can see their next album being in a whole different direction.

Maybe the next one will be their disco/dance album.

[lennytheweedwhacker]

i gave this album a decent listen yesterday...i enjoyed it overall, did start to lose a little interest toward the end

[epilogue]

Once I heard it I reflected on Colin's thoughts about REM's final album, how it sounded like a final album when he first heard it, before they officially announced retirement. I got a similar feeling from this. I don't think it's their last album, but it has the feel of a fully realized piece, as you say, that COULD be their last word.

And I'd probably be okay with it. It would suck. But IF this became their final album, it would be hard to be upset with the way they went out.

I also hope they don't quit, but I can see their next album being in a whole different direction.

Maybe the next one will be their disco/dance album.

Based on Perfect Crime #2, I think I'd be way down with a Decemberists dance record.

[epilogue]

i gave this album a decent listen yesterday...i enjoyed it overall, did start to lose a little interest toward the end

It does feel long for a Decemberists record, oddly enough.