New Decemberists album mellow, country

By Emily Nichol     1/20/11 6:00pm

Originally from Portland, Ore., the Decemberists released their first full-length album, Castaways and Cutouts, on independent label Hush in 2002. Now the Decemberists are signed to Capitol Records and are more popular than ever: Their previous album, The Hazards of Love (a rock opera of sorts), reached number 14 on the Billboard top 200. Their newest album, The King Is Dead, was released on Jan. 18 and is a mellow follow-up to The Hazards of Love.The Decemberists certainly like to keep an element of whimsy to their appearance, citing Orangina as the band's official drink and claiming that they travel exclusively by "Dr. Herring's Brand Dirigible Balloons." This eccentricity carries over into their lyrics, which tend to be imaginative and poetic, though they have been criticized for being too aesthetic, conceptual and intellectual (nerdy) to the point of pretension. Even though The King is Dead still has references to obscure historical figures of the Gilded Age (in "Calamity Song"), the Decemberists have majorly simplified their vocabulary from their past albums, a change that gives the album a relaxing vibe.

While the Decemberists have always identified themselves as new age folk, The King is Dead is significantly more country than the Decemberists have been before. In fact, the album was recorded in a converted barn on a farm in Oregon, and many of the songs on the album feature instruments normally found in country music: Whiny fiddle and bright piano sounds intermingle in "All Arise!" Most of the songs feature a strong harmonica riff, which is especially beautiful in "Don't Carry it All," a particularly American folk sound that is reminiscent of mid-1960s Bob Dylan album Blonde on Blonde.

I am not ashamed of voicing my fundamental opposition to the entire genre of popular country music - Garth Brooks makes me want to puke - yet somehow even I was moved by the twangy guitar and swelling rhythms of "Rise to Me." Something felt enormously authentic about it, like someone took the subtle alt-country of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, made it cry, then force-fed it a few Shiners and stuck a harmonica in its mouth.

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My personal favorite is "Down by the Water": it is the catchiest song on the album, injecting some energy into the western feel of the rest of the album. While it keeps the harmonica like most of the other songs, it is definitely more rock 'n' roll than any other. Enlisting the assistance of singer Gillian Welch (who sang for and assisted in the production of the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack, which won several Grammys), the Decemberists craft a rock ballad that maintains emotion without losing liveliness. R.E.M.'s Peter Buck plays the guitar for "Down By the Water" and leaves a distinct R.E.M. imprint on the entire album. Buck also collaborates with the Decemberists on "Calamity Song" and "This Is Why We Fight" - which sounds like Modest Mouse got in a brawl with Death Cab for Cutie; it is simultaneously the most alternative and pop-sounding song on the album.

Perhaps tamed from the less than stellar criticisms of Hazards of Love, the Decemberists have strayed from the "baroque-pop" sound that first garnered the band's popularity. Although they have detached from their own foundations, the Decemberists' adoption of "roots" blues and American folk is definitely a step forward from their arcane and operatic Hazards of Love. Although Castaways and Cutouts is still my favorite Decemberists album (They actually tell stories with their music! They make "laudanum" and "fecundity" rhyme! Who does that?), The King is Dead is a calm change from the sometimes overly cerebral Decemberists.

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