Remember that really weird kid from high school? You know, the kid who washed his hair with crisco, always wore a vest and was the star of Canterbury Tales? Ever wonder what happened to him? Did he make it on broadway? Did he become the first guy to get into Juliard for playing the pan flute? No, his name is Colin Meloy, and he went to college in Montana, learned the guitar and started The Decemberists.
The Decemberists defy simple classification. The best way I can describe them, is if REM and Fleetwood Mac had a baby, and that baby went to art school, it would be The Decemberists. Colin Meloy's hyper-literate, historically obscure lyrics sometimes makes me think his writing process involves going to the library and trying to write songs based off of historical footnotes. Don't believe me? Look up the lyrics to "Odalisque" and "The Shank Hill Butchers" and then do a wikipedia search. Heck, do a wikipedia search for The Decemberists while you're at it. (I'm not saying that I've done it...) These guys definitely got an A in AP History. Their last album "The Hazards of Love" was a full on rock-opera about a love triangle that involved a shape shifting forest beast, and an evil queen. I think. I still don't really know what that record was about.
However, "The King is Dead" is something entirely new for The Decemberists. And the thing that's so strange is how normal the record is. Seriously. It's a country record. Full of pedal steel guitars, fiddles, harmonicas and Gillian Welch backing vocals. REM's own Peter Buck plays guitar on half of the tracks. It sounds normal, not over blown, and you don't have to listen to it with a thesaurus in hand. There's no concept (except that's its country sounding), and it's short (only 10 songs). But it's really really good. The songs are more focused and Colin Meloy's voice has a surprisingly good range.
Lyrically, most of the songs are sort of "Workers of the World Unite!" The opener "Don't Carry it All" is sort of a workers anthem that features the line "And you must bear your neighbors burden within reason", which makes sense, if The Decemberists are going to make a country album, it's not going to be an odd to Jack Daniels and belt buckles like most modern country. It's going to be a throwback to the old days when country music was the anthem of the rural working class.
The Decemberists have always had a folky sound. So the leap to country isn't as big of a jump as it may seem. It suits them, and they can still mix in a little accordion and use lines like "every vessel pitching hard to starboard". The bluesy "Down by the Water" is a great song, that perfect mix of genres that is incredibly catchy and listenable, it's what the band is built on. "All Arise" has a real hoedown feel with a fun fiddle part. The best track is probably "Calamity Song", it's a backwoods, country rocker about the end of the world. The sort of song that only this group could pull off. The twin ballads "January Hymn" and "June Hymn" are both pretty solid. Just simple acoustic songs that paint idyllic pictures of the countryside during their respective months.
Yes, the record is short at only 10 songs. But there really aren't any throw away tracks. There's no filler. I'll pay $9.99 for that. So put on your best felt vest, throw on some hypster glasses, and have a hoedown with the drama club! It's fun, I promise.
