2005-03-31
It’s that voice.You either like Colin Meloy’s reedy vocals, or you don’t. And depending on your answer, you either like or don’t like The Decemberists, since the entire band is built around him. There’s some nice songwriting and Meloy knows the tricks of the trade: pop hooks and minor-major key wind-up.
A college radio staple, Picaresque may be one of the band’s most commercial-sounding releases in recent memory. You’re entering a world of sea-farers, vagabonds, hucksters, soldiers and angels. No samples here, folks, they’re the real deal from Hammond organ, accordion, earnest strumming, and ok, throw in a tam-tam.
Stella
THE BURNING OF ROME
(Selections from the forthcoming album) With Us
Dayna Kurtz
Beautiful Yesterday
Elliott Smith
From a Basement on a Hill
Malea McGuinness
True Believer
Various Artists
Endless Highway: The Music of The Band
LANDLADY
Upright Behavior
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