The Decemberists are an American Folk-Rock Band and Prove Just That on New Album

Portland-based The Decemberists have been experimenting with the concept album format since 2006 with The Crane Wife. Then came the epic story in The Hazards Of Love, where none save "The Rake's Song" could stand by itself unaided by the others. But now the band is back to creating songs that are musical statements by themselves. With the help of, on select tracks, Peter Buck of R.E.M. on guitar and folk musician Gillian Welch on backing vocals, The King Is Dead showcases the classically literary folk-rock The Decemberists are famous for, this time with an Americana bent.

"Don't Carry It All" has Bob Dylan-like harmonica playing with slow jackhammer drumming. The chorus is melodic and filled with fiddle. A mandolin break, probably by Buck, that has Italian and Chinese hues.

Buck appears on two other tracks as well. "Calamity Song" has an early R.E.M. feel to it, unsurprisingly. Acoustic guitar strums over Buck's chiming electric. The song is laid back i a swirling and lush way. "Down By The Water" proves that The Decemberists could be a great backing band for Neil Young. It captures the grungy folk-rock beast that early Crazy Horse was, full of aggressive harmonica and strumming, a good chorus hook and jangly guitar from Buck. Accordion adds a uniquely Decemberists touch.

The two songs with the most country flavor are "Rise To Me" and "All Arise!" The former is driven by piano and a big vocal track. The acoustic guitar, soft horse trot drumming and pedal steel guitar add the mournful country quality. The latter starts out with a fiddle hoedown and even has a bit of honky-tonk style piano playing.

Despite the silly title, "Rox In The Box" is a great addition to the band's collection of sea shanty/Irish folk ballad/pirate songs. It undulates along with an acoustic guitar riff combined with prominent violin and accordion.

The only aspect of a concept album still around here are in the songs "January Hymn" and its counterpart "June Hymn." The song about the first month of the year is mostly just complex acoustic guitar picking and voice, with some icy glass-like pedal steel. The odd breathy background vocals and arrangement recall Simon & Garfunkel. The song about the sixth month of the year is fittingly warmer. It has an early '60s Dylan-like guitar arrangement accompanied by simple electric organ and harmonica. Both songs have slice-of-life lyrics.

"This Is Why We Fight" is the most straightforwardly rock and roll song on the album. Driving drumming anchors the rhythm for distorted harmonica and jangly guitars. A feeling of dread permeates this song. Its a little too repetitive and could use some oomph.

"Dear Avery" ends the album on a fade out of sorts, which is fine if you like that sort of thing. But there's something to be said for a grand finale. This song is sparse, slow and sleepy but mostly in a beautiful, not boring, way.

Many bands fail in their attempt to downsize effectively after ever escalating the epicness in concept albums. Often times the resulting new album will feel boring in comparison. The Decemberists have avoided this trap with The King Is Dead because they have focused on simply creating fantastic songs, musically and lyrically, that aren't necessarily trying to prove some lofty point. The band members, pretty much all multi-instrumentalists, work as parts of a whole and what they do best is taking older musical styles and transforming them into something that is truly unique but with a warming familiarity at the same time. Introspection housed in organic, woody American folk-rock is the name of the game here and it works splendidly.

The Decemberists Break the Mold on New Concept Album

Next to the new Decemberists album The Hazards Of Love, The Crane Wife seems meek. Colin Meloy and company have crafted a set of music and a story of epic preportions, staying true to their "old soul" vibe but blasting far beyond the trappings of an indie-folk band. Every song is very much part of the whole, forcing the album to be listened to continuously from beginning to end. But that is all part of the beauty and rarity of this kind of album in this day and age.

The Hazards Of Love is told in the fine tradition of a classic love and revenge story. Margaret, voiced by Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond, falls in love with a shape-shifting forest creature, voiced by Meloy. Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond rounds out the cast as a jealous forest queen.

"Prelude" is what it suggests and sounds like an orchestra warming up. Keyboardist Jenny Conlee takes center stage here with some haunting organ and even some synth that would do Rush proud.

The title track, as with The Crane Wife, is broken up into four parts. Each is similar in basic structure and the whole thing provides an anchor for the album. Subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle changes arise as the mood of the album changes. In part one, the song feels very vast and is acoustic-based. Prominent stand-up bass fills in the crevices between the guitar and there's even a Moroccan-sounding flurry near the end.

"A Bower Scene" is definitely a rock song with it's chugging electric riffs over ringing keyboard. It almost feels like '70s prog-rock.

"Won't Want For Love" is a slow burner with somewhat of a blues boogie. It's here that Stark's Margaret makes her first appearance.

The second part of "The Hazards Of Love" is back to acoustic but has the sparse feel of a street performance, complete with bongos, reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins' "Blue." But the song does build in intensity and instrumentation.

"Isn't It A Lovely Night" is an accordian-driven classic love song. Stark's fragile, warbling vocals, almost like those of Joanna Newsom, mesh with Meloy's in a duet worthy of stage musicals. The steel guitar towards the end changes the mood a bit into a country waltz. This isn't exactly effective and probably should have been left out.

Melancholy harpsichord characterizes the beginning of "The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid." But the rest is full electric Heart/Led Zeppelin-style blues-rock. Worden makes her debut as the Queen and this style of music perfectly fits her deeper, soulful vocals.

"The Rake's Song" is the only one on the album that could concievably stand on it's own. The band probably needed a single to promote the album after all. But this doesn't detract from the quality. Driven by a simple but memorable acoustic riff with compressed electric fuzz beneath and bombastic drumming from John Moen, the song tells the creepy tale of a young widower killing his children.

"The Abduction of Margaret" has a chugging electric riff much like "A Bower Scene" but with lots of precise drumming and symbals for the percussion. In this the song has some Police flavor.

If there's one song on the album that proves The Decemberists can rock hard with the best of them it's "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing." Worden's vocals are highlighted once again and the mountain-sized guitar riffs are almost doom metal-worthy.

"Annan Water" changes the tone a bit and is energetic and acoustic and synth based. Not that the song is bad but it's one of the least memorable.

Giving off a desperate vibe, "Margaret In Captivity" has Stark's vocals sounding not unlike Joni Mitchell. Electric riffing returns in the last half of the song but this time with a flute duet.

The third part of "The Hazards Of Love" is quite changed from it's predecessors. It's an eerie children's song with definite "Another Brick In The Wall" touches. Harpsichord and harmony singing, from the children the Rake character killed, provide the bulk. Towards the end the song morphs into a circus waltz.

The fourth part of "The Hazards Of Love" end the albums on a lower key just as it began with an alt. country-tinged ballad complete with steel guitar. The story has a satisfyingly well-rounded climax to go with the well-rounded beginning and middle.

The Decemberists have given us one of the greatest if not the greatest concept albums since probably The Smashing Pumpkins' Machina/The Machines Of God. The story is worthy of high literature and the band went above and beyond what the general listening public has thought of them as. The Hazards Of Love is just begging to be played live all the way through or to be turned into a musical. It's definitely an early contender for album of the year.