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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Sigz on February 21, 2010, 05:15:26 PM
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Awesome band, I know there are a few fans around here. Appreciate them, bitches.
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One of the five best bands of the past decade. Her Majesty The Decemberists and The Crane Wife are juggernauts.
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ahh well...this band is a strange one for me. Not my cup of tea at all musically...Im not into folk..let alone crunchy folk but the Hazard of Love album got it's hooks into me and I could not stop listening. The female vocals are very tight and not over the top cheezy...I haven't heard any of their other stuff, I don't think I want to - it would ruin them for me.
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Great live band too. The "Lottery Show" was definitely one of the most unique/interesting concerts I've ever been to.
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Uh, I like the first two parts of The Tain.
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Only have the Hazards of Love and its pretty awesome. I'll have to pick up The Crane Wife at some point.
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I only have the Crane Wife, but its a really good album. Not something I listen to regularly, but its nice when I do. I listened to Hazards of Love when I first got it, but didnt really like it.
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They're on my list.
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Colin Meloy's voice can grate on me at times, but the band is very good.
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Absolutely. Meloy's warbly, raw singing is the main reason I can't really enjoy almost all their material.
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On my list of bands to check out, any recommendations on where to start?
Also who would you compare them to?
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I've been meaning to check them out since their guitar player was featured on the Colbert Report a year or two ago.
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The Hazards of Love was my first album by them, though I think The Crane Wife or Picaresque would be better places to start.
Here's a few songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK3Ce9md96g (off of Picaresque)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbsHwuyfnnw (from The Crane wife)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD1Aj7EYDog&feature=related (The Hazards of Love)
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I'd say Crane Wife.
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https://decemberists.com/index.php
https://twitter.com/colinmeloy
And our new record is called . . .
(Can i get a drum roll, please?) 1:09 PM Nov 2nd via web
THE KING IS DEAD -- out January 18th, 2011!
new song Down By the Water available for free (https://decemberists.com/email-confirm-c01.php?fan=http%3A%2F%2Fapp.topspin.net%2Fapi_v1_fan%2Fshow%2F12660736%3Fartist_id%3D797%26auth%3Dca8c71bdba8b26f18b38460f04d39d7f&campaign=http%3A%2F%2Fapp.topspin.net%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Fartist%2F797%2Fcampaign%2F10081842&has_media=true)
Track list
1 Don't Carry It All
2 Calamity Song
3 Rise to Me
4 Rox in the Box
5 January Hymn
6 Down by the Water
7 All Arise!
8 June Hymn
9 This Is Why We Fight
10 Dear Avery
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^^^ Very excited - especially since this means there's probably gonna be a tour soon :caffeine:
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2011 is just getting more and more great music!
Edit: the actual content of the press release is pretty funny. "1/18/11, once you take away the slashes, is 11811. What is the significance you ask? Clearly it is a snowman surrouned by waving banners." :lol
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sweeeeeeeeeet
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I just came.
EDIT: OMG Peter Buck!?
EDIT 2: This song is soooooo good...
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EDIT: OMG Peter Buck!?
He was actually in the band that opened for the Decemberists on their Hazards of Love tour. I guess maybe that's how he ended up getting involved?
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They're decent
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They're decent
(https://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo155/_rocket47_/ari_gold.gif)
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they're showing up Conan O'Brien's show next Thursday (11/18/10)
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I wonder if they'll play "The Island" on Conan if I flood their twitter account enough? /lolcole
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yeah, or The Tain, lol.
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Isn't this band considered hipster-ey?
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A little bit, I think. Doesn't stop their music from being good.
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yeah they're one of the exceptions where the hipsters actually got it right.
by the way, here's the cover art for the new album
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5b/The_Decemberists_-_The_King_Is_Dead.jpg/220px-The_Decemberists_-_The_King_Is_Dead.jpg)
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In that case I'll check em out.
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I only have The Hazards of Love but I really enjoy it, even if Colin Meloy is not the best of singers.
I :heart "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid"
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Tour Dates
https://decemberists.com/news.html#on-tour.html
Minneapolis on Superbowl Sunday, lol.
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Nowhere near me...oh well.
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*bump*
New album out on Tuesday. Super excited!
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Nothing from this band has completely grabbed me but for some reason I'm still excited to give them another chance. Will definitely check out the new album.
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Nothing from this band has completely grabbed me but for some reason I'm still excited to give them another chance. Will definitely check out the new album.
Have you listened to Hazards of Love? It's really, really good.
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meow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=409OtZ0wpXw
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Why would you ever let your cat near your record player like that! Think of the damage! ARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH
Anyways, I've listened to the new album a few times. I definitely prefer the more epic sounding stuff you get on The Crane Wife and Hazards of Love, this album is kind of like a happier folky Springsteen, but no real punch. Good for what it is, but not as exciting as the other stuff.
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It's definitely more austere. I only listened to it once, but I dug it.
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I really like it.
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Uh. I fucking love this album; it's just such a nice listen. And I'm really glad there are no real multi-parters this time.
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They're decent
(https://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo155/_rocket47_/ari_gold.gif)
What's that from? :lol
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It's from the tv-show Entourage.
Ari ftw. :lol
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Ari :hefdaddy
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Seeing them next wednesday :caffeine:
Also, listening to Castaways and Cutouts for the first time, I really like it so far.
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Grrrrr. They're not coming close to me at a convenient time. They've been posting the setlists on their facebook and "The Island" is popping up on almost every one! RAGERAGERAGERAGERAGE
Man, have to miss Eisley, dredg, AND NOW the Decemberists now this summer/end of school year. :(
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I still think The King is Dead is pretty remarkable, although I kinda played it out.
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I recently started listening to these guys and would consider seeing them but because I live in their hometown the show here has been sold out for a looong time.
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I'm now digging The Crane Wife. My brother let me borrow it a while back, and I finally got around to it today. Very nice. The last two songs were great, especially "Sons and Daughters," which is awesomely catchy. I can see why some might not dig the singer's voice, as "Shankill Butchers" definitely suffered because of it. It sounded fine on the rest, though. Will listen more... :)
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Seeing them tonight :caffeine: I really hope they play some good stuff off of The Hazards of Love.
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Shiiit! I'm so jealous!
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Holy shit that was a great show.
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Setlist?
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Can't remember everything, but they played a bunch of stuff off the new album, A Bower Scene, The Rake's Song, Hazards of Love 4, 16 Military Wives, The Crane Wife 1 and 2, We Both Go Down Together, The Mariner's Revenge Song, amongst other stuff.
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I just found out that this band is coming here at the end of next month. I could probably talk my brother (who has been a fan for a while) into going. I am sure everyone in this thread would utter an emphatic YES if I ask whether or not I should go, right? ;)
Anyway, I am digging the hell out of The Crane Wife, and today, my brother let me borrow The Tain, Picaresque and Castaways and Cutouts, so I should be getting a crash course in this band. I was a little surprised that he didn't have The Hazards of Love, considering how highly it seems to be regarded by the fan base, but assuming I like this other stuff, I'll get to it. Hooray for discovering new good music! :tup :tup
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not everyone loves/loved The Hazards of Love. In fact I'd say the majority of fans liked The Crane Wife and Picaresque more.
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Outside of a few songs I really can't dig Meloy's voice. It's in that "worse than Axl Rose" stage, which is a shame because I think I'd really dig a lot of the music. I still really like "The Tain" though.
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I found him way more tolerable on the new record. Did you try listening to that?
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Full Set:
Shiny
Down By The Water
Calamity Song
Rise to Me
We both go down
The Bagman's Gambit
Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
Interlude (Night Moves - Bob Seger)
Crane Wife 1+2
Crane Wife 3
The Rake's Song
Don't Carry it All
Rox in the Box
This is Why We Fight
Sixteen Military Wives
Encore:
The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)
The Mariner's Revenge Song
Encore 2:
June Hymn
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So after initial disappointment of the new album, it's really been growing on me. I'd say it's more countryish and less prog-folk than they've been in the past, but I still find it to be a very enjoyable album. I think I like it better than Hazards, but not as much as The Crane Wife.
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Lucky Sigz, getting the Crane Wife. If you had gotten to see the Island I would have strangled you from across the pond.
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I can definitely see why some wouldn't like the singer's voice; there are a few WTF moments for me so far, but overall, it seems to work.
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Is the latest album a good place to start?
Because that's the only one I have on my comp, but I haven't listened yet. :P
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I love it when singers have unique voices. It makes the music more unique overall.
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Is the latest album a good place to start?
Because that's the only one I have on my comp, but I haven't listened yet. :P
Yeah. I'm in the minority but I actually think it's their best out of the other 3 I've heard.
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I love Colin's voice.
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It takes a bit of time to get used to, but it grew on me pretty fast.
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"The Mariner's Revenge Song" is one of the more interesting songs I've heard in quite some time. I'll leave it at that....for now. :biggrin:
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Mariner's Revenge was definitely the high point of the show for me. So energy, so powa, and they had the entire audience scream at the giant whale part. So much fun. :metal
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WHITE WHALE HOLY GRAIL
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"The Infanta" is one hell of a killer tune. :coolio
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Definitely. Musically amazing.
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After listening to The Crane Wife and Picaresque all week, I can safely say that I totally dig both of 'em. This is great stuff. "16 Military Wives" really grabbed me today; what an infectiously catchy tune!
Now, how good is Castaways and Cutouts? I am gonna dig into that hopefully tomorrow. And I ordered The Hazards of Love from amazon this weekend; it should be here on Wednesday. wOOt!
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It's quite good. 'Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect' is one of their best songs.
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After listening to The Crane Wife and Picaresque all week, I can safely say that I totally dig both of 'em. This is great stuff. "16 Military Wives" really grabbed me today; what an infectiously catchy tune!
Now, how good is Castaways and Cutouts? I am gonna dig into that hopefully tomorrow. And I ordered The Hazards of Love from amazon this weekend; it should be here on Wednesday. wOOt!
CaC is good. Her Majesty, The Decemberists is probably their best or second best.
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Sweet. If it is close to as good as these other two, I will be satisfied. :)
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Got tickets for the show here at the end of next month. My brother was shocked when I suggested we go, considering he knows I just started listening to them literally over a week ago. But I am loving this stuff, and the idea of seeing a band again while in the honeymoon phase is exciting, so I bought us tickets yesterday. And then it sold out this morning! Good thing I didn't wait another day. :)
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Got tickets for the show here at the end of next month. My brother was shocked when I suggested we go, considering he knows I just started listening to them literally over a week ago. But I am loving this stuff, and the idea of seeing a band again while in the honeymoon phase is exciting, so I bought us tickets yesterday. And then it sold out this morning! Good thing I didn't wait another day. :)
It's amazing; enjoy it!
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I plan on it. I guess I'll have to get the newest album since it looks most of their recent set lists have quite a bit from it.
In the meantime, I am about halfway through my first listen of The Hazards of Love. So far, so really good. :tup :tup
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Hey guys I want to get into this band, which album do you recommend I start with?
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Crane Wife or Hazards of Love.
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It's all garbage except for The King is Dead.
Not really, but it's still my favorite. It's a lot less pretentious than their other records.
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But just the right amount of pretentiousness makes for some amazing music! Just ask Yes!
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I listened to most of The King Is Dead on youtube earlier, and I definitely ain't gonna be buying that one. It is waaaaaay too country rockish for me. But I'll listen to the songs enough to know them since I know I will hear a bunch of them next month at the concert.
Even the last song on The Hazards of Love gets a bit too country rockish for me at times, most notably, the guitar solo. But stuff like "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid," "Annan Water," "The Hazards of Love 1" and "Isn't It a Lovely Night?" is all terrific. In particular, those background vocals during the chorus of "The Wanting..." are just incredible.
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But just the right amount of pretentiousness makes for some amazing music! Just ask Yes!
Or Steven Wilson. :neverusethis:
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Like I said earlier, I think the King is Dead is much more jangly-folk kind of music compared to their more indie rock stuff. Kind of like Springsteen. The songs are all good, so it doesn't matter much to me.
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King is Dead is definitely more country than I normally listen to (that is to say it's even just a little country), but it's an album chock full of damn good songs, slide guitar and harmonica or not.
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I can dig folksy, Springsteen-like material, but when it sounds too country, with the twangy guitars and all, that is when I cringe. And the harmonica is very hit or miss for me.
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Okay, of the four whole albums I have heard thus far, Picaresque is definitely the best. That record is rock solid from start to finish - every song is really good at worst - and many of the songs are among my favorites so far.
I am definitely liking Castaways and Cutouts. It has a few songs I don't think much of so far, but the first four songs, "Cocoon" and especially "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade" are all major winners.
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This is the number one band that I'm planing on getting into this summer, and I just can't wait. So far I've only heard two songs - Down by the water and Engine driver. Most people tell me I'll love the rest as well, and I'm sure I will. ;D
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I got Castaways and Cutouts and Picaresque the other day. Shall report back after listening.
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Picaresque was absolutely phenomenal. LOVED every second of it. I think my three favorites were "Eli, the Barrow Boy", "On the Bus Mall" and "The Mariner's Revenge Song"
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This is the number one band that I'm planing on getting into this summer, and I just can't wait. So far I've only heard two songs - Down by the water and Engine driver. Most people tell me I'll love the rest as well, and I'm sure I will. ;D
Cool. Keep us updated. :tup :tup
Picaresque was absolutely phenomenal. LOVED every second of it. I think my three favorites were "Eli, the Barrow Boy", "On the Bus Mall" and "The Mariner's Revenge Song"
I particularly love how much acoustic guitar they use, especially on that record. :coolio
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The Hazards of Love is so amazing.
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The Hazards of Love is so amazing.
I like it a lot. I can't decide how good it is, but I just know that I like it a lot. :tup :tup
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The Hazards of Love is so amazing.
I actually don't like it that much. And when I say "that much", I mean that I only smile my pants 25% of the time I listen to it vs. 100% for the other albums.
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Got Her Majesty now.
The concert's in ten days. :tup :tup
But first things first: Arcade Fire is in four days. :hat :hat :hat
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Got Her Majesty now.
The concert's in ten days. :tup :tup
But first things first: Arcade Fire is in four days. :hat :hat :hat
I'm so jealous of you right now.
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dredg is two weeks after that, too.
And U2 is now less than three months away.
Gonna be a good season for concerts. :tup :tup
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Tonight's concert:
Awesome. In every way possible. Colin Meloy is one awesome frontman.
And this is where I make you all jealous by posting the set list... :biggrin:
Set:
The Infanta
Down by the Water
Calamity Song
Rox in the Box
The Engine Driver
The Bagman's Gambit
Won't Want for Love
The Crane Wife 3
January Hymn
The Sporting Life
The Rake's Song
Don't Carry It All
Sixteen Military Wives
This is Why We Fight
The Chimbley Sweep
Encore 1:
My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist
The Mariner's Revenge Song
Encore 2:
June Hymn
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The King is Dead is great, haven't heard anything else by the band though. :P
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The Mariner's Revenge Song is so much fun live.
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The King is Dead is great, haven't heard anything else by the band though. :P
You should get on that ASAP. If you like that one a lot, the others will really knock your socks off! ;)
The Mariner's Revenge Song is so much fun live.
Man, if that ain't the truth. And you can tell the band has an absolute blast performing it. The crowd, of course, doing the whale sound was awesome. Other great moments that I am remembering:
-The climax in "The Bagman's Gambit" was beyond great. Meloy loudly singing over that climax is easily one of the biggest highlights in their discography, and it slayed last night.
-The "La de da..." part of "Sixteen Military Wives" was cool as hell, especially at the end when Meloy constantly was going back and forth between him doing it, us doing it, and then him having us to get louder and louder. Great stuff. And at one point when he sang it, he caught someone in the front doing it, too, and he joked, "Hey, why are you singing now? It's my turn. I didn't sing when it was your turn." :lol :lol :lol
-They expanded "The Chimbley Sweep" like crazy, it being a long jam where they all switched instruments and eventually pulled two people from the front of the crowd on to the stage, and let them play acoustic and electric guitar. The girl doing acoustic couldn't do much more than strumming, and the guy doing electric guitar was decent, but it was a neat moment.
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Every Decemberists show is an extremely unique experience. I remember one time when I saw them, during "The Perfect Crime #2" Colin saw somebody in the crowd holding up their cell phone (as in, she had a friend on the other line and was holding up the phone so her friend could hear the song being played live), so Colin takes the girl's cell phone and puts it right up next to the mic so that he's basically singing directly to the person on the other line.
And of course The Lottery Show was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed, filled with all kinds of unique off-the-wall moments (including forcing their sound guy to crowd surf from the sound board to the stage then back again while the band played a waltz; Nate and John making out and Colin writing/performing a song off the top of his head, which ended up being something about that pilot guy who landed a plane in the Hudson River).
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OH GOD I WANT TO SEE THEM SO BADLY
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I'm not a huge fan but I feel like I would appreciate them live.
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They're playing the Prospect Park Bandshell on June 14th. =)
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antigoon, you would. I said to my brother after last night's concert, "If you are a fan of this band at all, and don't become a much bigger one after seeing them live, you have no soul." He agreed (and he has been a fan far longer than I have been).
ZeppelinDT, that lottery show had to have been awesome. I remember reading that they played "The Tain" at it. They actually played that a few times in the last week in other cities, so there was a slight possibility that we'd get it last night, but to not avail. But I was more than happy with what they played. I even like some of those songs from the new album quite a bit. The shrieky harmonica stuff is never to my liking, like in "Down by the Water" and "Don't Carry It All," but those songs are upbeat and fun enough to have enjoyed live.
And I hadn't given it much attention before last night, but "January Hymn" is absolutely gorgeous.
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They're playing the Prospect Park Bandshell on June 14th. =)
Oh wow, tickets are cheap, too. Once I get my paycheck I may just buy a ticket.
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You should. Immediately. By today's standards, seeing them for that ticket price is an absolute steal.
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OH GOD I WANT TO SEE THEM SO BADLY
I'm seeing them in June! :D
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I'm actually just getting into this band now. Any suggestions?
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Crane Wife.
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I'm actually just getting into this band now. Any suggestions?
Probably start with Picaresque and/or The Crane Wife. Both are excellent from start to finish. Then again, so are The Hazards of Love, Her Majesty... and Castaways and Cutouts, so, there ya go. :biggrin:
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A recent email sent out:
About a month ago, we all at Decemberists HQ got hit with some pretty hard news. Jenny Conlee, our since-the-very-beginning accordion and keyboard player and all-around rad person was diagnosed with breast cancer. If you or anyone in your world has been handed a similar diagnosis, you know what a bolt-out-of-the-blue this news can be.
The good news is that Jenny caught it early. And while the prognosis is very, very good for a full recovery, tackling the disease will mean some intensive treatment for our Jenny as well as a lot of important recovery time.
So I’m writing this to say that, weighing our options, and with Jenny’s fervent blessings, we’ve decided to go forward with our scheduled tour dates this spring and summer.
What we know now: Jenny will very likely miss all nine of our concerts in May and June. We're all hoping that her recovery will be such that she'll be able to get back on board as soon as possible.
And now, a note from Jenny:
Hello to Everyone,
I am very sorry to say that I will be missing a few shows coming up as I go through treatment for breast cancer. It has been great to be on tour these past few weeks. The band and crew are like family to me and have been incredibly supportive and understanding. To be making music with everyone and seeing the fans has helped me to feel more positive and keep my mind off of my diagnosis. But, alas, as the tour winds down, it is time for me to get back to reality. I will try to get into surgery as soon as I can after we return from this leg of the tour so I can begin my recovery. There are still a few unknowns out there concerning my cancer, but I am thinking positive and hope to be back on the road soon. Thanks for all of your support! See you soon!
Lots of love,
Jenny
Thanks for everyone’s understanding during this crazy time.
Yours,
Colin Meloy
The Decemberists
--------
Here's hoping for a speedy recovery! :tup :tup
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Oh wow, what a bummer! Hope she recovers quickly.
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Oh wow, what a bummer! Hope she recovers quickly.
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I listened to The Crane Wife and she raped me.
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Wait, what? :lol
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My dad got us tickets for the LA show this summer :D
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I just picked up tickets for my wife as a birthday present. I saw them the last time they came through town and thought they were decent. Should be a good show...
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I've been listening a lot to The Crane Wife this past week and man, what a fantastic album! :tup I really love this band! TCW was my first exposure to the band so I can't wait to check their other stuff out!
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I've been listening a lot to The Crane Wife this past week and man, what a fantastic album! :tup I really love this band! TCW was my first exposure to the band so I can't wait to check their other stuff out!
Get ready for a helluva ride! :tup :tup
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Apparently I was not meant to see these guys live this year.
I had tickets to go see them in January, but then we got hit with a brutal snowstorm making it impossible for me to make it to the show...
Then I was gonna go see them at Bonnaroo, but then all my friends backed out of the trip...
Then my backup was to see them in Brooklyn on July, but by the time I knew Bonnaroo was cancelled the Brooklyn show was sold out.
Triple bummer! :/. Oh well... maybe next tour...
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That's a bummer, but if you have seen them before, all you are probably missing is stuff from the new album (assuming you have already seen all or most of the other stuff they are playing this year), so no big loss there ;), except for maybe "January Hymn," which is great.
At this rate, here is how I'd rank and rate the six studio albums.
1. Picaresque 4 1/2 stars
2. The Crane Wife 4 stars
3. The Hazards of Love 4 stars
4. Castaways and Cutouts 3 1/2 stars
5. Her Majesty: The Decemberists 3 stars
6. The King is Dead 2 1/2 stars
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You've been a fan for what, a month and you already have everything? I still don't have C&C or HM:TD. :lol
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Two months, technically. :P :lol
And besides, my brother had three of the first four, so I borrowed those from him (but will be buying them very soon), bought a physical copy of THOL, and got the other two from amazon downloads for very cheap. :tup :tup
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So I just got the new album and I'm listening to it pretty often! It's good stuff. I prefer Crane Wife though (I only have those two albums).
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Well Crane Wife is a monster. But I do love the new one. Saw these guys last week and they played most of it. 'twas excellent.
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I think their new record is their best since Picaresque and their most charming since Castaways And Cutouts. I thing The King Is Dead is a very charming and I like their return to a simpler format. Now, I love Picaresque, but it did mark the transition from their simple stuff to their more bombastic, overtly proggy stuff on The Crane Wife, which was a good, not great record. Then Crane Wife begat Hazards Of Love which is where I feel they blew their load and swung too far into the pompous and overblown category. I dont like concept albums much anyway (Metropolis Pt 2 being the exception) and didnt feel the story on Hazards was decent enough to warrant an hour-long album. A noble failure in my view.
They are still one of my favorite bands of the last decade and I really want to see them live in the near future, which shouldnt be too hard considering I live in Portland!
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I pretty much agree with you. The new album is my favorite one, and easily their best one.
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It is a great album, I could see, with time, it becoming my favorite. There is no weak track.
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I still think the new one is easily their least best one. Easily. If I had to do a top 25 songs list, the only song from it that might make it would be January Hymn. And it would be near the bottom of the list. Overall, I like it more than I did at first, but it is still easily my least favorite of theirs.
Also, I definitely don't agree about there being no weak tracks. All Arise! is very poor, IMO. The intro alone makes me want to hurl, as I hate that country-sounding fiddle.
As for best songs overall, it is hard to put them in an exact order, but right now my absolute favorites would be:
The Mariner's Revenge Song
The Crane Wife 3
The Crane Wife 1 & 2
Annan Water
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I hated All Arise! at first but now I really enjoy it, actually.
Although my personal favorite Decemberists song is Grace Cathedral Hill, I will concede my argument to you because I trust anybody who's favorite Decemberists songs include Mariner's Revenge Song...that's just a classic!
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The Rake's song is disturbing and amazing. That was the first song that got me into the Decemberists...
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Mariner's Revenge Song! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sw61oITuts
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:D
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I hated All Arise! at first but now I really enjoy it, actually.
Although my personal favorite Decemberists song is Grace Cathedral Hill, I will concede my argument to you because I trust anybody who's favorite Decemberists songs include Mariner's Revenge Song...that's just a classic!
Interesting pick for favorite song. I like it, but Odalisque has grown to be my favorite from Castaways and Cutouts. :coolio
The Rake's song is disturbing and amazing.
Yep. It almost seems wrong to sing along to lyrics that disturbing, but it is just so damn catchy! :lol
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https://pitchfork.com/news/44167-the-decemberists-reveal-details-of-forthcoming-ep/
The Decemberists are having a busy release year-- in January they put out a full-length, The King is Dead, and in August they released an iTunes session. Now, they've announced a six-track EP to follow up The King is Dead, appropriately titled Long Live the King, out November 1 via Capitol. It'll include acoustic songs recorded alongside material from The King is Dead and a cover of "Row Jimmy" by the Grateful Dead. Above is the cover art. Here's the tracklist:
01 E. Watson
02 Foregone
03 Burying Davy
04 I 4 U & U 4 Me
05 Row Jimmy (Grateful Dead cover)
06 Sonnet
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Interesting. I am hoping the country vibe isn't as strong, but given that they were recorded at the same time as The King Is Dead, it probably will be.
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I still need to check out this EP.
And time for the new fans to talk about them a lot in here. :)
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I still need to check out this EP.
Me too. I love The King is Dead despite the more countryish sound.
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I love it because of that. Checking out that EP now.
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I love it because of that.
Me too. And it's weird because I don't like country most of the time. Another proof that there is good music in every genre.
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I still need to check out this EP.
And time for the new fans to talk about them a lot in here. :)
I've been a fan for a little while now but I'm down to talk about them!
Great band, probably my favorite indie/folk band. I have Castaways & Cutouts, Picaresque, The Crane Wife and The Hazards of Love but I still haven't gotten the new record yet. Hopefully that'll change after Christmas. The Island is my favorite song, The Hazards of Love is my favorite album. It bums me out that in every review of The King is Dead that I read the reviewer throws a little jab in at The Hazards of Love, usually implying that Hazards was a bad album because it was too proggy and ambitious and King is Dead is better because the songs are more concise. Whatevs ::)
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I agree with that. Not that The Hazards of Love is too proggy or whatever but I favor the concise, no pretenses nature of The King is Dead over their more overblown stuff.
I think I just have a thing for folk rock with a country twang. See Bright Eyes: Cassadaga, I'm Wide Awake It's Morning.
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Hazards of Love is a pretty easy pick as my favorite Decemberists album. It doesn't really have any of my favorite songs but the whole album is quite the trip.
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I agree with that. Not that The Hazards of Love is too proggy or whatever but I favor the concise, no pretenses nature of The King is Dead over their more overblown stuff.
I think I just have a thing for folk rock with a country twang. See Bright Eyes: Cassadaga, I'm Wide Awake It's Morning.
I can dig that, I just kind of resented the implication in alot of the reviews that ambitious/artistic=bad and concise/accesible=good. Either thing can be good or bad, it all depends on the tunes. And don't get me wrong- everything I've heard from King is Dead has been great and I love those Bright Eyes records you mentioned, but Hazards is my favorite Decemberists album because:
the whole album is quite the trip.
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Meh. I didn't really find anything on the new EP that memorable. It just sounds like songs that weren't good enough for The King Is Dead.
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Nothing on it is bad, but it is pretty obviously a bunch of B-sides.
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Quite a nice time for this thread to be resurrected, because I've been listening to a lot of The Decemberists for the last two or three weeks. I gotta say I absolutely adore The Hazards of love and The Crane wife. This is one of the first bands with strong folk influences that I decided to listen to, so that's what makes this music so fresh for me, but then again, there's a lot of prog elements on these two albums that sound familiar and that make me fall in love with the music even more. I also really enjoyed Castaways and cutouts, there are some breathtaking melodies on there. It's a very bleak record for the most part, reminiscent of the infamous In an aeroplane over the sea, which can't be a bad thing. I'm currently getting into The King is dead, which is a cool album, although not as experimental as their previous works.
Favorite songs so far, in chronological order: Odalisque, Here I dreamt I was an architect, Shanty for the Arethusa, The Bachelor and the bride, We both go down together, The Engine driver, On the bus mall, Crane wife 3, The Island (my absolute favorite), The Perfect crime 2, Isn't it a lovely night, The Rake's song (probably their only song that makes this emoticon justified: :metal), Annan water and so on, there's plenty of gems. I'm not including anything from their last album so far, although Rox in the box and This is why we fight are a lot of fun.
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Yeah, The Island is very easy to appreciate if you're a prog fan! My wife actually turned me on to this band a while back. She's big into indie/folk stuff like She & Him and Iron & Wine and at the time I was still sort of in my prog snob phase and we had a bit of our own "indie v. prog" thing going on. She put on Crane Wife and was like "here this is indie folk." When we got to the "Landlord's Daughter" section of The Island with all the organ arpeggios I was like "Wait a minute- indie folk? Sounds like some prog to me baby!" :lol
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My guess is that most people who listen to this band do not come from a strong prog background, so that explains why some didn't go crazy over The Hazards of Love. For my money, it is a helluva ride and a fantastic record. But if you are strictly or mainly a fan of folk or indie and do not dig when bands stretch out too much, I can see why you wouldn't like THOL as a whole. On the flip side, it is probably the one album of theirs that I think prog fans who do not dig folk or indie are most likely to like a lot.
Odaslisque is definitely one of my favorites, too, Mladen! I love the vibe and pacing of the song once it picks up after the slower first too verses. That is great stuff. :coolio
And it really is amazing how a song with lyrics about such deplorable acts can be so awesome to sing along to, as The Rake's Song is. :metal indeed. :)
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I remember seeing the tracklisting for The Crane Wife and being amazed that they actually made songs that long. But "The Island" is freaking amazing. Great prog song and probably my favorite from this band.
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The Island is great, but I actually think the other longer song on that record, The Crane Wife 1 & 2, is better. Both are great for sure, though!
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And it really is amazing how a song with lyrics about such deplorable acts can be so awesome to sing along to, as The Rake's Song is. :metal indeed. :)
I sing along to The Rake's song as well - should I feel bad? ;D It's just so catchy, what can you do. :metal
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I'm just getting into this band courtesy of my friend! They are awesome.
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And it really is amazing how a song with lyrics about such deplorable acts can be so awesome to sing along to, as The Rake's Song is. :metal indeed. :)
I sing along to The Rake's song as well - should I feel bad? ;D It's just so catchy, what can you do. :metal
Exactly. It is literally impossible to not sing along to. :coolio
I'm just getting into this band courtesy of my friend! They are awesome.
Sweet. What songs and albums are you digging? :)
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The Rake's Song is amazing!
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And it really is amazing how a song with lyrics about such deplorable acts can be so awesome to sing along to, as The Rake's Song is. :metal indeed. :)
I sing along to The Rake's song as well - should I feel bad? ;D It's just so catchy, what can you do. :metal
Exactly. It is literally impossible to not sing along to. :coolio
I'm just getting into this band courtesy of my friend! They are awesome.
Sweet. What songs and albums are you digging? :)
Not sure about songs yet cause I've just been listening to the full albums, and I can't put a name to the songs cause I can't remember where they were on the album :p. I know I like The Island though. And The Crane Wife is probably my favourite so far. Awesome album! :)
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The Crane Wife is great, for sure. I like Picaresque a bit more, as it is more consistently great; The Crane Wife consistency tails off a bit in the middle with the bland When the War Comes, and I am still somewhat iffy on Shankill Butchers. The Crane Wife 3, like The Rake's Song, is impossible for me to not sing along to. :coolio
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I can't wait to explore the rest of their discography deeper!
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Keep us posted in this thread when you do! :tup :tup
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FIND HIM, BIND HIM, TIE HIM TO A POLE AND BREAK HIS FINGERS TO SPLINTERS. DRAG HIM TO A HOLE UNTIL HE WAKES UP, NAKED, CLAWING AT THE CEILING OF HIS GRAVE.
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:heart
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Ranking the albums after a month and a half of being a fan:
The Crane wife
Picaresque
Castaways and cutouts
The Hazards of love
Her Majesty, The Decemberists
The King is dead
Their last album turned out to be a lackluster, half of the songs really don't do anything for me, which is a shame because Dear Avery, Down by the water and This is why we fight are a lot of fun.
The Crane wife is my absolute favorite, it has to be one of the best albums I discovered in 2011 and one of my all time favorites, top 50 indeed - an album with 8 perfect songs out of 10 has to make it so high on my list.
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I am generally okay with that order, although I'd swap 1 & 2 and 3 & 4. Her Majesty... is definitely 5th best, and The King Is Dead is definitely the least best.
Which two songs do you consider not perfect from The Crane Wife? For me, When the War Came stands out as easily the only weak song, and while Shankill Butchers is better than I originally thought, it still is less than perfect as well.
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The King is Dead
The Crane Wife
The Hazards of Love
Picaresque
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I'm waiting for the rest of the Decemberists' catalog to resonate with me the way The King is Dead has but it just ain't happening :lol
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I'm waiting for the rest of the Decemberists' catalog to resonate with me the way The King is Dead has but it just ain't happening :lol
Got to agree with that!
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You guys are goofy. :biggrin: ;)
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The Hazards Of Love
The King Is Dead
The Crane Wife
Castaways And Cutouts
Her Majesty The Decemberists
Picaresque
5 Songs
Long Live The King
The Tain
The problem with most of their albums is that there will only be about 2 or 3 fantastic songs while the rest is filler. THoL had the strength of being a concept album that plays like one giant song, TKiD was just a style I really enjoyed, and The Crane Wife has the advantage of two epics being on it. Aaaaand the EPs do virtually nothing for me.
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Which two songs do you consider not perfect from The Crane Wife? For me, When the War Came stands out as easily the only weak song, and while Shankill Butchers is better than I originally thought, it still is less than perfect as well.
Shankill butchers is definitely less good than the rest of the album. The other one I don't really enjoy is Sons and daughters, it's not nearly as interesting as the rest of the album. I wish the album ended with the title track, which is probably my favorite on the record. As for When the war came, I love the angry vibe it has, the heavy riffs and some odd time signatures here and there are very refreshing. ''
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??? :eek
Sons and Daughters destroyed me on my first run-through of The Crane Wife, so I can't agree with that at all.
But I agree that The Crane Wife 1 & 2 is the best song on the album. It seems like more prefer The Island, but not me. Both are terrific, but the title track is better (both of them).
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When the War Came is good it's weird that you don't like it.
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Me calling it a weak song might have been an understatement. I just meant that it is weak compared to the rest of the record. I don't dislike it per se, but I am just not crazy about it.
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Oh ok! Fair enough. :tup
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Recently got a DVD of theirs from the mid 2000s which features close to an hour of live stuff, some of their videos like The Tain, 16 Military Wives, etc. and a documentary I still need to watch. One of the live songs was this (this exact performance):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYutHS7e94I
:hat :hat :hat
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Has anyone picked up the live album yet? Anyone?
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I saw it at the store, but I passed it up for some other releases. I'm not really a "live album" kind of person, but this release looks intriguing. Though I can't stand cover art/photos like on this release, even on live albums.
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I've had The King is Dead for six months and the only songs that grabbed me were Down By The River (cool country feeling) and This is Why We Fight (though I had to edit that secret ending, it was bugging me big time). I haven't heard any other songs besides the ones on this album.
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I'm not really a "live album" kind of person
Me neither. Releasing a live album, but not a live DVD and/or Blu-Ray? Pfft, that is so 30 years ago. :lol >:(
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I wouldn't have bothered if it was any other band, but The Decemberists are one of those groups that bring it onstage. I've seen them twice and both were fantastic experiences. They have a way of bringing the audience into their performances. Colin's stage banter: nuggets. That's the other thing.
Those are some of the reasons why I picked up the live album myself.
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They should have released the DVD as well. I'm not a live album person neither, but the track list is fantastic, they actually busted out some really old songs for it. And I might even have to get it in order to hear all three parts of The Crane wife in a row.
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Personally, I really like good live albums, but I rarely feel the desire to sit in front of my TV to watch a full one. I might pick this up just because the tracklist is so good.
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Do they never play The Island live or what?
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Do they never play The Island live or what?
They played it at my show last year.
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Right on. Bummer that it's not on the live album.
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I remember looking at their set lists when I first got into them last year and before and after the show we went to, and I remember The Island being played sporadically. Never regularly, but at a handful or so of shows. Personally, I'd rather hear The Crane Wife 1&2, if they are gonna play one of the long ones off of The Crane Wife.
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I love everything on The Crane Wife, but The Island is one of my favorite songs ever by anyone.
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It IS a great song, for sure. I was just thrilled to death that they played six songs off of Picaresque at our show. :coolio
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The second time I saw them live, when they toured for The Crane Wife album, they played the fuck out of The Island. It was fantastic.
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Turned this band on yesterday for the first time in a while and quickly remembered how much I love their music. :coolio
NP: Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
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Have these guys been doing anything lately? Haven't heard anything about them in ages.
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The band may be on hiatus. Last I heard, Colin was busy writing kiddie lit with art done by his wife (who also does their album covers). I also speculate that the inactivity also has to do with Jenny Conlee getting treatment for her cancer.
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The Tain > everything else they've ever done.
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Just remembered I still haven't bought their latest album. What the hell is wrong with me?
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When I heard it was more country-ish I immediately lost all desire to get it. Yes, that's a stupid reason, but it's also my reason. :lol
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I understand why it went that way, though. Colin's old band, Tarkio, was a straight up country band. It's how he get started. The Decemberists are basically a progressive country/folk band.
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When I heard it was more country-ish I immediately lost all desire to get it. Yes, that's a stupid reason, but it's also my reason. :lol
It's still a pretty good album. You should give it a shot and maybe surprise yourself.
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I'd say it's more folk than out and out country. It sounds like their previous stuff, with a bit of an americana thrown in. It's still pretty damn good. Check out Down By The Water, This Is Why We Fight, and Rox In The Box.
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When I heard it was more country-ish I immediately lost all desire to get it. Yes, that's a stupid reason, but it's also my reason. :lol
It's still a pretty good album. You should give it a shot and maybe surprise yourself.
Yeah I really should.
I'll have to see if it's on Spotify sometime.
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I saw and met Colin and his wife last Fall at an in-library reading. I briefly asked about The Decemberists, and he said new music may not be that far away.
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The band may be on hiatus. Last I heard, Colin was busy writing kiddie lit with art done by his wife (who also does their album covers). I also speculate that the inactivity also has to do with Jenny Conlee getting treatment for her cancer.
That is what I figured as well.
The Tain > everything else they've ever done.
The Tain is pretty sweet, but I can't call it their best song. Or even one of their best.
I'd say it's more folk than out and out country. It sounds like their previous stuff, with a bit of an americana thrown in. It's still pretty damn good. Check out Down By The Water, This Is Why We Fight, and Rox In The Box.
It's okay. I get why it appeals to certain fans, but I listen to all of the other albums way more than that one.
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Looks like they have a new album coming out in January and are touring after that. Woohoo!! :tup :tup
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I heard the sample. This will be good.
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It's been two months already, huh? Did anyone else hear the new album?
I thought it was pretty good. It's sort of a continuation of the more country-esque sound that was introduced on The King is dead. Some of the songs work great, some don't. The biggest problem I have with it is that it starts off with four absolutely amazing songs, and then it just sort of continues. But I must say that Make you better has to be one of the best songs they've ever written, it's that gorgeous, particularly the chorus. :heart
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I've only given the new album two listens so far, but I'm liking it. Agree that they've kept a lot of the full-on folk music, but I think they have also brought more of the soft rock back as well. Personally I love the folk stuff and The King Is Dead is actually probably my favourite of theirs, but the new one is really nice too!
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I like the new album. There is just something about the band that keeps me from going that step from liking to loving them. I have only heard their last two albums, but I guess they both lack a bit in consistency. The new one is definitely better than the last one, but despite there being a few really good songs, there's also a few that's kinda just there. If this album was 35-40 minutes instead of 50 minutes, it could have been even better.
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Colin Meloy did a reddit AMA earlier today. (https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2tb09u/good_morningafternoonevening_reddit_im_colin/)
He gives good answers! My favourite being this one:
(https://puu.sh/eTdBf/2d42fbe0a8.png)
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I like the new album. There is just something about the band that keeps me from going that step from liking to loving them. I have only heard their last two albums, but I guess they both lack a bit in consistency. The new one is definitely better than the last one, but despite there being a few really good songs, there's also a few that's kinda just there. If this album was 35-40 minutes instead of 50 minutes, it could have been even better.
their most recent 2 records to me are probably their worst 2 records (although I don't find The Hazards of Love that amazing either).
maybe try "The Island" from The Crane Wife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjvYoGAz0Fs
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Yeah the last two are definitely the worst IMO.
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The album has only been out for two days and people are already rating it poorly? :lol ???
I've listened once so far after getting it from iTunes last night (yay for getting a gift card for Christmas), but I liked it a lot. The songs at the beginning seemed really strong, and I liked that the country rock vibe that dominated the previous album didn't pop up nearly as much.
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I haven't hear it myself but I've been seeing a lot of music sites around the net just shitting on it. :sad:
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Okay, but what does that mean?
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Yeah the last two are definitely the worst IMO.
Er, no.
Jimmy, give The Crane Wife a try, you find that more exciting than their latest two albums.
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Thanks for the recommendations guys. :) I know they dropped a live album fairly recently, and I was wondering if it's good? Maybe it sums up "the best" of their career?
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I'd recommend Picaresque if you're looking for their classic sound and The Crane wife for a more prog and experimental approach. Those are my favorites, along with their debut, which is insanely catchy for the most part.
There are definitely some songs on the new album that seem like filler and that I really don't see growing on me. It could have been shorter, but still, they probably wanted to give us more material, being that it has been four years since their last album.
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I have a confession... I haven't heard any of their first 3 albums. I have everything from Crane Wife onwards, but that's it.
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Ariich, definitely check out The Tain and Picasreque.
Her Majesty and Castaways and Cutouts I would say are better than The King is Dead and What a Terrible/Beautiful World, but I guess I never got attached to them as much as TCW, Tain and Picaresque.
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The Crane Wife and Picaresque are both their best by quite a margin. I'd give Picaresque a slight edge. But both amazing albums.
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The Crane Wife and Picaresque are both their best by quite a margin. I'd give Picaresque a slight edge. But both amazing albums.
This.
Castaways and Cutouts is pretty great as well, and The Hazards of Love is also most worthy.
Still digesting the new album...
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So far, I like the new album, but I don't love it. The first four songs are all great, and I like The Wrong Year and Easy Come, Easy Go quite a bit, but quite a few of those songs later in the album have that "just kind of there" feeling.
12/17/12 is an instant turnoff with that shrilly harmonica at the beginning. I often hate when any artist utilizes the harmonica in that fashion. A good example of this is Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind, which is an otherwise nice song, but that harmonica after the choruses grates on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
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Lake Song is probably the big standout for me, with The Wrong Year being a close second favorite. Otherwise I agree the album starts off pretty good, and the majority of the better songs are on the first half. The second half feels more patchy and not as consistent. It's like the first half had a nice connection between the songs, and in the second half they throw in some songs that feels more unique and separate, but it results in the album kinda leaving the main sound to explore some other things, and some of them doesn't work.
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The Wrong year is a very sweet track indeed, it didn't hit me at first but I like it better now.
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For what it's worth I like the new album a lot. Not as good as most of their other albums, but I'm enjoying it a lot.
I also recently listened to Her Majesty... for the first time. Didn't like that one much at all. Need to give it another listen or two though.
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That one is okay. The first three or four songs are duds, and most of the rest of are just good songs. There isn't one song on there where I think, "Dang, this is great." I mean, I do like songs like I Was Meant for the Stage and The Chimbley Sweep a lot, but they aren't great.
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I think The Bachelor and the bride, Shanty for the Arethusa and The Chimbley sweep are amazing. The rest of the songs rank from good to average, and it's probably my 2nd least favorite album of theirs overall.
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I like all three of those quite a bit. I guess, for me, the album kicking off with a four-song run that is pretty blah makes it hard for me to like it more than most of the others.
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I'm that ass that likes the pop turn these guys are going through. I only know Picaresque and this album and a few other few songs (I'm recently getting into them), but I like this a lot more.
Easy Come, Easy Go is killer.
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All right... here's my album rankings as of right now. I admittedly need to listen to a few of the older albums a couple more times. Doesn't include any of the various EPs they've put out since I haven't heard most of them.
Picaresque
The Crane Wife
The King is Dead
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
The Hazards of Love
Castaways and Cutouts
Her Majesty The Decemberists
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Picaresque
The Crane Wife
The King is Dead
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
The Hazards of Love
Castaways and Cutouts
Her Majesty The Decemberists
I've only heard the four bolded ones, but that's my exact order for those. I'm therefore very excited to check out Picaresque. :caffeine:
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If I had to rank their records:
The Crane Wife
Picaresque
The Tain
Castaways and Cutouts
Her Majesty
The Hazards of Love
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
5 Songs
The King is Dead
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Such a fun live band. Had a blast seeing them again tonight. :coolio :hat
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For those interested, the set list was:
The Singer Addresses His Audience
Calvary Captain
Down by the Water
Hank Eat Your Oatmeal / Calamity Song
The Engine Driver
Philomena
The Wrong Year
Make You Better
Los Angeles, I'm Yours
Carolina Low
A Bower Scene (which set.list.fm does not have listed, but I was there; they played it)
Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
The Rake's Song
16 Military Wives
The Crane Wife 1 & 2
The Crane Wife 3
A Beginning Song
Encore:
12/17/12
The Mariner's Revenge Song
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That's a solid set list, it's gotta be great to see all three parts of The Crane Wife played back to back. There are a couple of slightly disappointing choices from the new album such as Carolina Low and 12/17/12, but I guess they need to play more recent tunes.
Another problem I personally have with The Decemberists shows is that they always close with The Mariner - an obvious fan favorite, but a track that I never really cared for. It would probably be anti-climatic for me to attend their show and see them close it with one of my lesser favorite songs. Although that outro at least must be fun.
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The whole thing is fun as hell live. Mariner's Revenge Song, The Rake's Song and 16 Military Wives are the three songs that should be played at EVERY show the band ever does. Crowds go bananas for all three.
Los Angeles, I'm Yours was the "Woah, I did not see this coming" choice of the night. :lol :lol
I can do without any song that features that shrilly harmonica (12-17-12 and Down by the Water). 12-17-12 is an odd choice for the first encore, but it's pretty short, so I was okay with it. Carolina Low I am not overly wild about, but it was another short one. Looking at setlist.fm, it looks like The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid is getting played a lot this year, and our show was one of the rare ones that didn't get it, so that is kind of an after-the-fact bummer, but the show was so much fun that I cannot complain.
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Upon further review, the new album is good, but it's just missing that something. I cannot pin point what it is, but it reminds me of Her Majesty the Decemberists in that it is enjoyable from start to finish, and has a few songs I would say are highly enjoyable, but just doesn't have anything I would call great, and it lacks what I call the "replayability factor."
But hey, I would still say four of their seven full length albums are great (Castaways, Picaresque, Crane Wife and Hazards), so having a few albums that are merely good ain't so bad.
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bump.
Offa Rex: new collaboration between The Decemberists and singer Olivia Chaney while not dramatically different, has some intrigue per just this cover of "The Queen of Hearts" with the female vocals and the harpsichord.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPSO-u4fdB0
https://www.avclub.com/article/decemberists-unveil-new-folk-side-project-offa-rex-254844
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Debut album "The Queen of Hearts" from Offa Rex released on July 7th.
Preorder:
https://www.nonesuch.com/albums/the-queen-of-hearts
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The name of the band intrigued me, I've checked some songs here and there on YouTube and listened to the Picaresque album. So far my interest is taked by We Both Go Down Together and especially The Mariner's Revenge Song, that is a less twisted, gory and (non) metal version of Avenged Sevenfold's A Little Piece of Heavens when it comes to dark stories of murder and revenge. Lovely eerie tune.
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I love that song. I like this band a ton and will always check out anything they do as a band. Picaresque and The Crane Wife remain their best albums, IMO.
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Offa Rex - Blackleg Miner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAVKy9WUzeU
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New album in March and a tour right after. :hat
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yep.
"I'll Be Your Girl" on March 16th.
1st single "Severed"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksTFj6L0mao
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Love this band. Looking at though this thread I do agree the last album was the weakest (not bad, just average), hopefully this new album will be a return to form.
Best band I've ever seen live too. Colin is a real funny guy, great with the crowd, tons of interaction and stories - and the rest of the band play along perfectly.
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Wow! A new Eels album was announced yesterday, and now this. 2018 is finally shaping up to be a fine year. :tup
This new song, although it reminds me slightly of The Perfect crime II, sounds like they're pushing some boundaries a bit this time around. I'm not sure about the song on the first go, but kudos for doing something different.
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Wow, that song was not what I was expecting style-wise, but I liked it a lot.
I like the last album, What a Terrible World..., but I didn't love it, and not much of it really stuck with me, which makes two merely "solid" records in a row. Here's hoping this new song is a sign of a really nice bounce back.
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The song is a grower. I can see spending so much time with it this weekend.
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Just finished my first listen to 'I'll Be Your Girl'. Hmm, first impression is it's a mess, a lot of the songs feel half baked - then right near the end 'Rusalka, Rusalka' appears out of the wreckage and there is The Decemberists I loved. Obviously it needs more listens but right now - meh.
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My first impression is similar. Not terribly impressed, but there are some good moments. A few more listens and hopefully more of the good pops out.
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kind of gunshy on this new album, but per I really haven't enjoyed an album from these guys since The Crane Wife, I guess I am not expecting a lot.
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Damn, I forgot this was coming out today; I will have to grab it. The last two albums were kinda spotty, while still being pretty good overall, so I am hoping this one is more consistent like their best works, ala Picaresque, The Crane Wife and The Hazards of Love.
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After one listen, I am not terribly impressed. Hard to believe that they thought songs like We All Die Young and Everything Is Awful were worthy of putting on a record. After a single listen of each, I can't imagine ever listening to either of those songs ever again. The best songs seem to be at the start of the record.
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Good God, I'm only half way through and I'm already stunned by how many songs I really disliked so far. I'm never one of those listeners that gives up on certain songs after the first listen, but I can hardly imagine some of these tracks growing on me.
Such a shame all of our early impressions is that the album is underwhelming.
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I liked The King Is Dead even though the sound shifted slightly but I couldn't really get into the 2015 album (it's been three years?!) and it's sad to not be hearing great things about this one.
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Well, definitely a very different album. I did like their last album but this one just seems too much of a meh. It has a couple of good songs but for the most part it's forgettable. They have been steering to a sound that is maybe easier for the general public to get into which is not a bad thing, but here I think they over-did it.
Maybe the album will grow with time, we'll see.
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I thought the record from 2015 had a handful of really good/great tunes, but also had some total throwaways.
Not sure I am buying the "the new stuff sounds more commercial" chatter, but while there are some songs on this I like, and I really love the first song, as a whole it is fairly unsatisfying.
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Not sure I am buying the "the new stuff sounds more commercial" chatter, but while there are some songs on this I like, and I really love the first song, as a whole it is fairly unsatisfying.
Probably not so commercial, I'd say it just sounds like a fairly bog standard indie album. Aside from Colin's unique voice and "Rusalka, Rusalka" (and maybe Cutting Stone - although that sounds more like a b-side) it doesn't really feel like a Decemberist record at all.
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To me, Colin's voice is unique enough that when he sings, no matter what the music sounds like, it sounds like the Decemberists.
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I've only spent a week with the album, but I think this is one of those sad occassions that I have to admit one of my favorite bands released their worst album.
Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild rushes is a classic and Severed is a fun track, I wish they went in that direction stylistically with the entire album. The rest, however, features my least favorite songs by the band. The title track and Once in my life are painfully generic. And then there are tracks like Your ghost, Everything is awful and We all die young that are filled to the brim with poorly constructed vocal melodies, spotty production choices and quirky experimental instrumentation. I'm trying to figure out if Colin and the gang just wanted to be silly or witty with these songs, but they come off as uninspired and unfocused.
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Some of the songs feel like they had good ideas that were never really fleshed out, almost like they threw the demo on the album.
Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes took a couple listens, but I am starting to like that one.
I suspect We All Die Young will be slightly enjoyable live despite the poor vocal melodies because that drum beat will be hard to not tap your foot to, but on record, ick. Everything Is Awful and title track are both painfully poor.
I kinda like Your Ghost, but that one is a good example of what I was talking about. A little more work could have made it a lot better.
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Well, definitely a very different album. I did like their last album but this one just seems too much of a meh. It has a couple of good songs but for the most part it's forgettable. They have been steering to a sound that is maybe easier for the general public to get into which is not a bad thing, but here I think they over-did it.
Maybe the album will grow with time, we'll see.
I'm not sure it's particularly about how accessible and general public friendly the music is. Personally I'd say The King is Dead is their most poppy and accessible album, and it's fantastic because it does that pop-folk thing so well. The album after that was still pretty good. But with this new one... yeah, it's just most of the songs aren't very interesting. Such a shame.
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Well, definitely a very different album. I did like their last album but this one just seems too much of a meh. It has a couple of good songs but for the most part it's forgettable. They have been steering to a sound that is maybe easier for the general public to get into which is not a bad thing, but here I think they over-did it.
Maybe the album will grow with time, we'll see.
I'm not sure it's particularly about how accessible and general public friendly the music is. Personally I'd say The King is Dead is their most poppy and accessible album, and it's fantastic because it does that pop-folk thing so well. The album after that was still pretty good. But with this new one... yeah, it's just most of the songs aren't very interesting. Such a shame.
As I said, moving towards a more accessible sound is not necessarily bad and as you point out the 2 albums that came before this one are good, in spite of what some here think. But this one has lost that Decemberists essence those other 2 still had.
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super old bump.
new single coming "Burial Ground" tomorrow 2/6/24
https://twitter.com/TheDecemberists/status/1754580224090812698
also The Tain celebrates its 20th Anniversary on February 23rd btw.
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Interesting, this could mean a new album is on its way. I'm on the fence about the news, though, not only was their last album six years ago, but I also remember really not loving it.
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My expectations for a new album are extremely low. The quality of their albums went downhill fast after The Hazards of Love. The King is Dead was OK, but the last 2 albums were truly awful.
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https://open.spotify.com/album/5jodqSew9785i4tEIRLase
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBlJ35D7tss
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That's more like it. The last two albums were a huge stepdown in quality 'Terrible World' felt like a collection of B-Sides and 'Ill Be Your Girl' was so bad it seemed it could have been a contract obligation, so obviously lacking any effort!
This however warms my heart, can they deliver another classic?
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Burial Ground did absolutely nothing for me. There were some good moments in the last two albums, but they were clearly a large step down from their previous work. I have pretty low expectations for the next album.
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back to doing Prog? new album coming June 14th. New 19-minute track "Joan in the Garden"
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-decemberists-as-it-ever-was-so-it-will-be-again-album-track-list-1234989941/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nhLuHWcTdo
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I decided to skip the singles, but I'll check out the album for sure. :tup
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back to doing Prog? new album coming June 14th. New 19-minute track "Joan in the Garden"
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-decemberists-as-it-ever-was-so-it-will-be-again-album-track-list-1234989941/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nhLuHWcTdo
This song had some beautiful moments. Not sure it needed to be 19 minutes