The King is Dead

Don't worry he isn't really. That's just the title of the new album from The Decemberists. You probably knew this review was coming. I'm surprised I didn't write it sooner. The band allowed the whole album to stream on NPR for a few weeks prior to the actual release of the record. They were even nice enough to give out the first single for free to us.

When I heard that initial single, Down By The Water, I actually thought it was a John Mellancamp song. Starting a song off with an unmistakable harmonica lick is a classic Americana Bluegrass sound. I was actually really surprised when I eventually heard Colin Meloy's voice enter. I'm used to The Decemberists being this Victorian British Folk sound from a strange far off world called the Northwest United States. Everything they  write has this other worldly, fantasy novel, steam-punk, connotation with me. When the band released Hazards of Love it felt like they took that idea and that vein of work to its extreme and almost exhausted it. I'm very pleased to say that this new-er direction feels effortless. It's as if the band has been an American Folk group this whole time and we never noticed. In a way that's true. Hazards of Love may have seen the introduction of harpsichord sounds but did you notice the steel guitars and banjos? Leaning heavy into a harder rock sound Hazards of Love set a natural growth into the sounds we hear on The King is Dead.

I must say that probably one of my favorite parts of The King is Dead is the fact that Gillian Welch is present on nearly every track. Her harmonies in the song Rox in the Box make it impossible for anyone not to sing along. I think having her involved was crucial to the success of this album. If you're going to delve into Americana music you're going to have to do it right. You can't have Americana without killer harmony work and that's what Gillian is there for. Maybe she's there to lend a little street cred to the group too. She's the ft P.Diddy of this music scene.

I do have one complaint about the album. I hate the choice for album opener. I don't hate the song at all. Don't Carry It All is really a lovely song, but it doesn't really do a very good job of grabbing the listener into the album. I think the album is a tad back heavy. Probably the strongest song on the album is This is Why We Fight which is followed closely by the lovely ballad Dear Avery. These are also the last two songs on the album. Maybe I just like these songs so much better than all the others that it's a personal feeling of lopsidedness. The whole album is truly wonderful don't get me wrong, but I truly feel that the later songs are the stronger works.

Go out and buy this album. Download it on iTunes or Amazon. I really don't care. This album still has the lovely imagry you would expect from The Decemberists, beautiful flowery word choice that you'd expect to find in a Dickens novel and not in a folk album. Added to that we have lovely new sounds that feel so right and effortless. I don't think Meloy's vocals have ever sounded better or more matched to a style than they do now. BUY THIS ALBUM!

Obligatory Best of 2010 Post

I feel totally unqualified to make this post, but I feel like it's necessary and expected. Now my feelings of un-qualification are not because I don't think I have a sound and valid opinion on music because I believe I do. More because I missed out on a lot of music this summer when I was working at an amusement park. 60 hour weeks and a stagnant soundtrack that repeated every day in the park pretty much drove me insane. During all that I missed out on anything that happened in the music world. The employee housing there had no internet access so my only time to get online and observe what the outside world was doing was my one day off per week. With only one day a week to do normal human things like laundry, grocery shopping, and sleeping I rarely found time to catch up on what was going on in the music world.

So instead of doing a best of the best list I'll take you on a journey through the year. These albums are not necessarily from this year, instead they are albums that were important to me this year. These albums helped me through one of the tougher years of my life and I think they should be recognized.

Winter 2010: The Hazards of Love- The Decemberists
During the first part of the year I was still listening to The Decemberists Hazards of Love heavily. I'd only just acquired it over the Christmas Break. This album, while a little too Rock Opera-esque for most, was right on point for me. Not only did the use of steal guitars enamor me but the story of the lovers lost in the woods trying to find a way to stay together real stuck to me. I love the opening prelude that just draws you into this world and the way it just flows right into Hazards of Love 1. My personal favorite song from the album is The Wanting Comes in Waves/ Repaid. Probably because I'm a little bit in love with Shara Worden's performance as The Queen. (And yes I will freely admit that my great love of The Decemberists is because Colin Meloy is an Indie dreamboat.) The idea of wanting something coming in waves is just a beautiful image. That you can deal with it as the waves tend to wash over you. I really enjoyed this album and am very much looking forward to the new one due out in January.

Spring 2010: Ben Folds Live- Ben Folds

Yes I realize I am running behind when it comes to realizing that Ben Folds is a genius. I'd owned a few tracks of his about a year previous to purchasing this album but I really fell in love with him and his storybook like songs when I listened to this live album. I'm slowly but surely catching up with his anthology not only of solo work but also that of Ben Folds Five. But this album was there for me during some pretty trying emotional times. I remember waiting hours for a friend to visit me while working in Ohio and just listening to some of these tracks most notably Not the Same and Army the latter probably because of the line, "my redneck past is nipping at my heels." A problem I actually do tend to deal with and really seem to relate to. Another notable mention from this album is Best Imitation of Myself. The ideas that he touches on with a lot of these songs really hit my hard in that place where you heart is supposed to be. He's become a huge musical influence to me in the past year and I'm sure as I continue to grow his influences will too.

Summer 2010: Sigh No More- Mumford & Sons

This album actually came out in 2010! February, but still it's a recent album. This album was much more of a late summer early fall jam for me, but I explained my summer problem. (If we want to get technical my summer album was Abba's Greatest Hits but I think this might be a better fit.) Let me first explain that I was raised on Bluegrass and Country music. By country music I mean Lorretta Lynn, Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, and the like. Nowhere in that list will you hear anything like these silly Pop Country singers on the radio now a days. These people are the ones who set the standard that has now been bastardized. That being said I have a very special place in my heart for the sounds of banjos, acoustic guitar picking, steel guitars and dobros. They are the sounds of my childhood and when I find a band that can marry those sounds with good songwriting and technical skill well be still my beating heart. While it was the lovely tune Little Lion Man that caught me up in the same fervor most people were caught up in. However I think the track that really gets this album my summer spot is Dust Bowl Dance. It really paints a picture of that Grapes of Wrath time period and that desperation. This song really takes you on an emotional journey probably due to the pain you can just feel oozing from Marcus Mumford. My love for this band is stemmed in my adoration for Mumford, and as a vocalist I will admit that I am drawn more to bands who have interesting vocals but also vocals that work well with there sound. (You will never see me give a good review of anything Joanna Newsom does. I'm sorry.) This album just takes me back to a simpler time and excites me for the future at the same time. I honestly honestly honestly recommend this album for anyone who enjoys folk music, even slightly. You won't be disappointed.

Fall 2010: Lonely Avenue- Ben Folds & Nick Hornby

I know what you're thinking. You can't have Ben Folds on your list twice! That's unfair to other artists! One it's my list and I'll do what I want. Two since iTunes lists this as a completely different artist than my Ben Folds stuff I'm counting it. Besides this album actually came out this year! Basically Nick Hornby, author of High Fidelity, teams up as the Bernie Taupin to Ben Fold's Elton John. Each song is like a short story, which makes sense when your lyricist is a novelist. There are so many lovely tracks on this album from the sad and poignant Picture Window to the quirky love song for poet Saskia Hamilton. (I'm told that the little boy in the video is a famous youtuber, at least that's what my 13 year old sister says.) The song Levi Johnston's Blues paints the picture of the young man who impregnated Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol and his views on the matter. If I had to pick a BEST OF THE BEST for this album it would be an equal tie between the songs Password, for the emotional journey it takes the listener on (and how much fun it is to sing in the car after a break up), and From Above, if only for the lines "Maybe that's why books get written/ maybe that's why songs get sung/ maybe we are the unlucky ones" Those are some of the most lovely lyrics I think I've heard all year.

Honorable mentions for the year:
Band of Horses cover of Cee Lo Green's Georgia. [No good links are available on youtube, but it's on itunes]
Ingrid Michaelson's Parachute
Kate Melua's The Flood
Kings of Leon Radioactive
Jukebox the Ghost Empire
Sarah Jaffe Better Than Nothing
Florence + The Machine Howl