The Decemberists Review

so i am gonna be quite blunt about this, not gonna be pompous and say i have been a decemberists fan forever, just gonna admit the first time i heard them i hated them. thought they were quite pretentious, but the fact is when i actually started listening to them on my own, not when tim constantly played engine driver, it eventually warmed up to me. so ive been listening to them for near on a year now and they have quickly become one of my favorite bands. ah the sound of his voice is so unique. so call it a special circumstance that i would go back to my place of employment (not working this summer) to buy my tickets from one of my bosses who had two extra, awesome though.

once we got there, me and mr. palamara we had some time to kill so we killed it, the venue was nice, small and personal. it felt more like an actual theater for plays and shit transformed into a music venue. it felt quaint and somewhere the decemberists would probably rather play than say the electric factory which just feels so manufactured. so we picked up our merch which the selection felt rather small than other bands but hey what do you expect when you are seeing a band that honestly isn't quite mainstream.

the audience was so varied, it isn't like it was all one age group or one demographic. there were few young people (below 18, those that were were with their parental units) there was quite a large variety of twenty somethings to fifty somethings, i tell you the people next to us had to be mid forties to early fifties! it was as if this one band united the generations since well they had such a unique sound.

the first band, robyn hitchcock, was actually good. they did what an opening band should do, entertain and keep you in line till the main band comes out. they were actually really good and you know what, they were in their fifties which was impressive on there own. the singer had his own unique sense of humor when he was up there talking about how small buzz aldrin was (1 inch i believe). when they got off i was left with a feeling like man i should listen to these guys.

the decemberists took a short period of time to show up and they started with a bang. we both went in knowing they were doing the entire new album, the hazards of love from start to finish. they came out and started, the lighting was amazing (they kept changing the colors and how bright, if you need proof check out my pics on facebook). the one girl, the one from Lavander Diamond, was wearing a hippie dress (i kid you not) but when she sang it was a bit hard to hear her since her mic was low. now you could hear everyone else perfectly well when they sang. now the other girl, the one from My Brightest Diamond, was the better of the two. she came up when it was her turn to be the focus and did these almost ballerina esque movements along with her impressive vocals, i think she had add. overall they were impressive and honestly gave me a more positive view on the album, but even still the story confused me, mainly bc i think the order of the songs in which they put them in made it that way. but hazards of love is an album you need to see performed live to fully gain the experience. at the end of the final song colin meloy said, "we'll be right back, need a break." i thought they were just gonna play the album but a second set??!!

their next set was impressive to say the least, i am not gonna name every song bc to be honest i don't remember it all. but they started with the crane wife, you know the one where the chorus goes "and i will hang me head, hang my head low" they continued to follow it through with more tracks from several of their albums, july july was another track and chimbley sweep. the rants between the songs were priceless, he mentioned how this one song he wrote [started to play it too] was nothing but "douchey" chords and all around douchey and it is pretty much a song you can douche to. towards the middle or end of the song he said he was knocked out by a monkey who took that song to LA and it ended up being Gnarles Barkley's Crazy or whatever that song is called. i couldnt believe he called that man a monkey....during chimbley sweep they added an insane instrumental in which both guitarists went into the audience and handed off their guitars to random members, two girls started playing insanely well and it continued for almost five plus minutes, i was blown as was mr. palamara.

they closed out and everyone was screaming encore. now i was skeptical since they did play two sets and the like but they came out and played 3 more songs and none of them were Mariner's Revenge Song. that is the song you should end a concert on, Mariner's Revenge Song instead they ended with Sons and Daughters which wasn't a bad song but still...overall the concert was amazing and well jizz in your pants worthy....and now a bonus!



DECEMBERISTS ALBUM REVIEWS [VERY LITE]

Castaways and Cut-Outs First Thought: C
not gonna lie, it took me a few listens to warm up to this band and this album, i was skeptical and didn't know how i felt about the several changes in the sound throughout the album
New Thought: A
this album is now one of my faves from these guys, i love so many of the tracks and the variety, it's not a concept album in the least and yet it feels so elequant. did i spell that right? i hope, its got lots of great songs, one thing i love is how their upbeat songs are so depressing
The Crane Wife First Thought: D
i never really enjoyed concept albums, this one was real hard for me to get into since at the time i wasn't as much of a fan. after several listens i came to love this album and have to say it is one of their best, not my all time favorite but i totally slowly eased into the slow changes and the lengths of the songs
New Thought: A-
the songs have a wide variety of length so it makes it hard for the ADD minded to sit for the entire album but most of these songs are exceedingly well constructed and well written. the story is a bit hard to follow but once you get it, you get it

The Hazards of Love First Thought: C
WTF? this album made no sense story wise. and you know what it felt too different
New Thought: B+
solid well put together songs, fluid flow between them, too fluid, and very beautiful vocals from the fairer sex. good lyrics too. still dont get the story...

Her Majesty First Thought: D-
i didn't like this album flat out straight up honesty right there
New Thought: C
still not a huge fan of this album, i like a few of the tracks. that's why i rarely listen to it, on the bright side it has the chimbley sweep

Picaresque First Thought: C
i think this album was the easiest for me to get into mainly i had listened to the others and i liked the themes more on this album than on the other, i'm not quite sure what i really thought at the time about this one since i brainwashed myself when i fell in love with it
New Thought: A freaking plus
this is my favorite of their albums now, my most listened to one too! i love all the tracks on it except the last one....but they are all so well done, not much of a concept album but more or less a series of stories that each song represent instead of creating a whole, its a fun listen especially mariner's revenge song

The Hazards of Love

this morning i awoke and ran to my mailbox. i was stoked and ready to recieve my copy of my most anticipated album of the year: the hazards of love by the decemberists. i tore off the plastic wrapping and instantly popped it into my computer and ripped it to my ipod. since i broke the headphones i possess i had to wait till work to give it a listen to. so here is my review. now after listening to it i am lost and confused about the story so here is what colin meloy said about the album:

The album began when Meloy—long fascinated by the British folk revival of the 1960s—found a copy of revered vocalist Anne Briggs's 1966 EP, titled The Hazards of Love. Since there was no actual song with the album's title, he set out to write one, but was soon immersed in something much larger.

The Hazards of Love tells the tale of Margaret (Voiced by Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark), a woman from a city near the forest, and her lover William (voiced by Meloy), a shape-shifting forest dweller. Margaret discovers she is pregnant, and sets off into the forest to find William. Their love is threatened by the jealous forest queen (Voiced by My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden), and a murdering knave. The range of sounds reflects the characters' arcs and emotions as well as the pacing of the story line, from the tender sing-song "Isn't It a Lovely Night?" to the thunderous rhythm of "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing."

1. Prelude: this track is just eerie once it picks up. i feel that it is not really needed but it is a soft opening into the album. rather than go straight into the first legitimate song they choose to do this. it sounds real awkward to be honest. it then picks up with the organ which i love how they use it in this album and in most of their songs. sounds like this is gonna be depressing if you ask me...

2. The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone): this song is moved into seamlessly from the first track. as the organ slowly dies the guitar slowly picks up. colin meloy's crooning begins and the lyrics as always seem so unique and his voice has that unique annunciation to it. it seems like this song sets up the entire story for the album with this being a concept album. it talks about a deer being found by a woman [i think the main character] and i wonder if this some kind of metaphor for anything. the songs chorus or refrain is just stating the hazards of love, thats all it is. i like it because it doesnt follow conventional song writing

3. A Bower Scene: a heavier song for them, relatively short. once you get through the first verse it goes into a realitvely heavy short instrumental then calms back down. meloy seems to be at the top of his game with his voice soaring talking about young maragret and it seems as if he is talking about a pregnency using intriqute dialoge. the female vocals are nice and soft towards the end of the song, i believe this is supposed to be margaret singing which i like, very beautiful voice and the instrumental has a constant and steady beat to it.

4. Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga): little did i know without looking at my ipod that the female vocals marked a change from the third track to the fourth. my main question is how are they gonna perform this song live with a female voice unless she is a real part of the band. the problem here is it feels like the same song as the last one with a seemingly flawless transisition

5. The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All): another song that flows right into. meloy begins to sound much softer and uses his lyrical charm to woo the young woman. and it feels that way as he seems to be cooing through his throat. i love the mixture of the guitar with the drums. the drums take a focus here as it keeps everything in check. obviously he is singing about having sex with her but he makes it less obvious by using different terms to describe it and making it exceedingly romantic. i actually really love this song after listening to the first part. half way through the song he starts singing oh the hazards of love again. yeah they reuse this but i accept it sadly. it begins to pick up but it still has that strong constant drum beat. good song. fits the album, works as a single song

6. The Queen's Approach: very short instrumental piece. it is an odd transisiton from the previous song, banjo with what appears to be a violin. two instruments rarely used made to sound beautiful together.

7. Isn't It a Lovely Night?: just the opening instrumental makes me think of that scene from the lady and the tramp and you all know what i am talking about. it starts off with the female singing about the evening. very subtle instrumentals. it seems that they use the violin again which i actually really like in this style of music, the odder the instruments the better the sound is. it feels like you are meant to have sympathy for the character in some capacity based upon how well she is singing and the tone and pitch she has. upon doing further research there are two different female characters, the queen (shara worden) and maragret (becky stark). the song ends on a beautiful solo that no one can lie and say they hate

8. The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid: my favorite song on the album thus far. the piano is just so creepy and i love that. meloy begins to sound like he's losing his mind in the words he is saying. "still the wanting comes in waves!/and you delievered me from danger then..." it sounds like he wants you to have the sympathy for his character when upon doing further research he voices the vile rake. and once it picks up this track it feels like the end of an album. he reaches to the bottom of his heart to out sing the choir that appears to be in the background at one point then it reaches this solo that just makes you tap your feet. the female vocals pick up and feel real strong and fit the instrument going in the background. the main problem is telling the difference in which character it is. once colin begins to sing it goes to the piano that i love so much. it feels like the song is repetitive but its no where near that in a negative way. its telling a story which makes it acceptable right?

9. Interlude: just a soft quiet instrumental to sooth us after hearing a rough and harsh six minute track, it fits, it works, feels like one of the opening tracks to a coheed album [lol]

10. The Rake's Song: this is the song about the villian in the story so that should give you a slight clue as to what it is about. now this was the first song to be released off of the album. it seems to be this bleak song with a uplifting instrumental. classic decemberists song imo. it seems to show the evil in this character as he talks about the birth of his children. the lyrics are very straight forward and you can tell what his intentions are as he seems to recollect about his misdeeds. the instruments in the background fit the words being let out of his mouth. it seems to be full of anger but not enough to make it not the same band. when he approaches to singing "alright alright" it seems like maybe the ghosts of his children are singing in the background [there really is a few extra voices]. the funny thing about this story is that he doesnt care about it.

11. The Abduction of Margaret: hmm flowing directly from the rake's song, most definitley the heaviest decemberists song ever. i got lost in the story now because i am trying to make sense of it. if margaret died in the previous song doesnt that mean that she is still alive or did he marry the evil queen?

12. The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing: well i think the female vocal in this track is the queen. hmmm it seems that the queen is in love with the narrarator but i just cant tell. her voice seems to have changed into a more wrathful and vengeful voice. it seems that the main character is ungrateful based upon the words she is saying. the instruments is what really stand out in this song. its dark and heavy. which actually surprises me for a decemberists song. im sitting here with it on my ipod playing and wondering why what happened? its almost as dark as the culling of the fold and mariner's revenge song. i keep losing track of where each song ends, that is the sign of a good concept album, it all flows together. the instrumental solo at the last thirty five seconds is actually one of my favorite parts of this song, the organ. holy shit its orgasmic!

13. Annan Water: this song feels different than that of the previous song. it seems that regret is sweeping over the narrarator or maybe just him feeling real sad bc of the death of his wife. i am not real sure what is going on. maybe the queen is his mother to a certain extent and she never liked his woman. hmm i think i could write a paper to it. but nonetheless its a much smoother song, and it seems as if the story has just reached the climax. talking about drowning and it gets a scitar solo around three and a half minutes in which i have to applaud them for using the unique rarely used instruments and for using them successfully without making it feel forced. i am not sure how i feel about this song, i am torn between really liking it and just liking it. we'll see upon further listening.

14. Margaret in Captivity: this song has another kind of creepy value to it with the way the guitar is being played. once the female vocals kick in it picks up and makes it feel like the character is being help captive and the male is going to her rescue. or maybe he is talking about killing her. it could be meloy is representing two characters and it isnt being defined real well. i am not really loving this song but its ok. tis not the worst one on the album but even still with a little work on the explanation it might make some more sense.

15. The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!): right from the get go this song hooks you in. remember the eerie piano from the wanting comes in waves it starts off with a fast version of that. kicking out the guitar they leave it with a piano and it just gets creepy, want to make it creepier? its sung by the children that were killed. one of the most bizarre songs on teh album. imagine the kids cooing the line "father your children are all here" when they are dead!? like is he going insane. just imagine all the imagery this album would put out if it were made into a moive ala Tommy or The Wall. my favorite line in this song is "spare the rod then you'll the child but i prefer the lash" its just so messed up and masochistic that you are just freaked out by a little child singing it.

16. The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise): this here is just a short repirse of my favorite on the track. it adds to it, meloy raises once more from the bottom of his throat to have the words the wanting comes in waves fly from his throat to the air and your ears. the eerie cooing in the background of younger or female vocals adds to the factor. hmm i like this short reprise very much

17. The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned): the big finale. this is where they close it off. it starts off real quiet and smooth like. i like this as an ending. it seems that there is sorrow in what happened and i must say, if i werent so god damn confused i might be crying. it has a twang in it that gives it a slight country feel but it is most definitley not anything of the like

so what is my final review. solid album. i must say but its not what i thought it would be. which if you think about it it could be something good or bad. i like most of the songs on this album and it has that feel that is a normal decemberists album, but in no way is it like thier two best albums (one of which being castaways and cut outs). it feels like colin wants to go big or go broke. the crane wife was like this as well. i have nothing against concept albums, dont get me wrong they are good but they can also be bad. i have heard a few, the wall was good, fucked up yes but good, the who's tommy i hear was good. but there was also my chemical romance's the black parade which was ok but it was trying so hard to be an album that would be remembered forever as the album that was our verison of classic rock's best bands. so it has the potential to suck or rock. this one is borderline holy shit fuck this is rape. so i have to give this album a score of 8.7/10

but take heed imo it is still the best album of the year.

here is the show!