Throughout their entire career, the Decemberists have been nothing if not ambitious. Their debut record, Castaways and Cutouts, sounded unlike anything else around at the time, Colin Meloy’s hyper-literate lyrics and the lush, complex melodies came together to create a unique sound that would define the band for the better part of the early 2000s. They closed out their time on independent labels with Picaresque, an adventurous album that featured ruminations on war, youth sports, and an eight and a half minute story of a sailor being swallowed by a giant whale. The band was at their creative peak, and it was truly a sight to see.
Since the band moved to Capital records, starting with their 2006 album The Crane Wife, they have continued to display that ambition, but with diminishing returns. The Crane Wife is an enjoyable album to listen to, though it never seems quite as fun as Picaresque or any of their earlier material. Their last album, The Hazards of Love, was a proggy opera, which had its moments, but frequently felt too big for its britches. Ambition is a good thing, but it seemed the Decemberists were a balloon of it, just inches away from popping.
With this in mind, I went into their newest effort, The King is Dead, expecting to hear the next big leap for the band. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a laid back, fairly simple record that may not set the world on fire, but is incredibly enjoyable to listen to. Largely gone are the dense stories and complex arrangements, with softer country and Americana homages to R.E.M., Dylan, and Neil Young in their place. I don’t know if Meloy got tired of writing grand stories or if the band was just choosing to explore a softer side, but whatever it was, it works to tremendous effect.
The R.E.M. influence is fairly obvious, especially given the band’s guitarist, Peter Buck, guests on a few tracks, each of which echo the signature style the band had in the 80’s and early 90’s, and it’s hard not to notice the similarities. “Calamity Song” sounds slightly like a sped up version of “7 Chinese Brothers,” while lead single “Down By the Water” sounds like the kid brother of “The One I Love.” But rather than coming off as cheap imitation, the band makes the sound their own, much as Arcade Fire took Springsteen’s sound and imposed it on their own on songs like “Keep the Car Running.” The band’s voice is not lost in homage, it’s always present and in the foreground.
The other main guest on the album, Gillian Welch, appears on seven songs, filing in the band’s always open spot for a female counterpart to Meloy, previously filled by Petra Hayden, Laura Veirs (who appears here as well), and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Warden. Her smooth voice adds a certain soothing sense to each track she appears on, mostly in contrast to Meloy’s sharper voice. “Rise to Me” melodically sounds like a Neil Young Song, with Welch adding a bit of sweetness to the chorus.
The only time we really hear a bit of classic Decemberists is on “This is Why We Fight,” which is reminiscent of early tracks like “Song for Myla Goldberg,” with the country tinge of the rest of the album mixed in. It’s an interesting statement from the band, given how ambitious they’ve been over the last six years, that they’re revisiting a more simplistic sound, perhaps as a way of creatively recharging their batteries. Most of all, it finds the band more relaxed then they have in years, which is truly fun to listen to.
Michael’s Score: 74
TUiW Grade: B
This weekend saw the handing out of some more hardware, with the Director’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild each handing out their awards. The King’s Speech dominated, with director Tom Hooper receiving the DGA award for outstanding directing of a feature film, as well as wins at the SAG Awards for Colin Firth (Best Actor) and Best Ensemble. The rest of the SAG Awards followed the same pattern of the Golden Globes, with Natalie Portman taking the Best Actress statue for Black Swan and Melissa Leo and Christian Bale winning in the supporting categories, both for The Fighter. It’s a safe best to guess that the winners will remain the same when Oscar night rolls around.
We’ve only had two episodes of Parks and Recreation’s third season, but that’s all I’ve needed to once again be convinced that this is the best comedy on TV. Sorry Modern Family, Glee, Big Bang Theory and every other respected comedy. “Flu Season” was a non-stop laugh-fest, an episode that put all of the show’s strengths on display, straight from the cold open. Amy Pohler, Rob Lowe, and Chris Pratt were spot on, delivering some of the best lines of the night (see the “Other Notes” section below) in what may prove to be the shows defining episode.
The Steve Carell Exit Tour just got a little more star power. Will Ferrell has signed on to do a multiple episode arch on The Office as a visiting branch manager from Dunder-Mifflin’s main office. Quipped writer Paul Lieberstein, “We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star. We are proud to continue The Office’s tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they’ll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality.” Could Ferrell secretly be Michael Scott’s replacement? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. At least it’s a reunion of this winning team.
After all the speculation, we finally have our nominees! The King’s Speech lead the nominations with twelve, with The Social Network also doing pretty darn good. The nominations are below, along with our suggestions of who was snubbed in the major categories. We’ll have some more insightful predictions to share before the February 27 ceremony.
Finally, our long national nightmare is over! Parks and Rec is back, and in the post-Office time slot it deserves, and maybe it was my pure excitement to seeing the show back, but I laughed pretty damn hard throughout the entire thing, even during the odd “Previously on Parks and Recreation” thing. The cold open, of Leslie going to gather her co-workers who have been doing other things throughout the government shutdown was priceless. I can’t decide what I found funnier, Tom’s kiss-off to his manager at Lady Footlocker or Leslie heaving Jerry’s painting into the water. The show started with a bang, and never looked back.
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