The Decemberists – The King is Dead – 2011
I haven’t really enjoyed The Decemberists for a while. First things first. They may have the best name in the history of their genre. Evocative, literate. Colin Meloy sounds like an impenetrably cold man (my daughter thought he was retarded when she heard him, that’s what she said. She was 9) which belies his deep sentiments. Well, they are hidden beneath layers and layers of literacy.
Their earlier theatri-folk albums, Castaways and Cutouts, Picaresque and Her Majesty, were just plain lovely, replete with splendor, irony, meloncholy and grace.
Then they got signed to a big label and they got all pretentious. I couldn’t focus while listening to The Crane Wife. I know there are many that love it. I’m not one of them. I’ve heard it twice and I can’t tell you anything about it. Sorry. The Hazards of Love had a similar effect. At once proggy as well as…metallic, it’s over blown and self conscious.
So, I was skeptical about any new offerings from the pacific northwest’s holdover from the great Neutral Milk Hotel/Olivia Tremor Control era.
I’m glad I didn’t hold out. The King is Dead is adorable. Pastoral and sweet, Meloy has ditched the thesaurus and the grandiosity and gone back to what made Her Majesty my favorite of their albums: Songs.
There is a John Prine by way of Nancy Griffith and Paul Simon quality to the absolutely terrific “January Hymn”.
Peter Buck’s guitar on “Calamity Song” just reminds me why I loved REM and why I am so disappointed by them nowadays.
The combination of Buck, harmonica, Gillian Welch’s voice on “Down By The Water” treads dangerously the fine line between “The One I Love” and Late 70s Springsteen. But since nobody is doing that kind of stuff anymore, I’m down with it. It’s fantastic.
Gone is the thesaurus. Colin Meloy, once the doctorate candidate to Craig (The Hold Steady) Finn’s indie Poet Laureate, has learned that less is more and taken that mantle from Finn who seems to slip more and more with each album.
The King is Dead is a decidedly “American” sounding album. Meloy seems to be courting the heartland, finding joy in State Fairs and intimate venues. Without a doubt, it’s my favorite Decemberists album. By far. Maybe because its the best REM album since Automatic for the People.
Grade: A
ASide: Calamity Song, Down by the Water, This is Why We Fight
BlindSide: January Hymn, All Arise!, June Hymn
