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April 10, 2005
the decemberists :: picaresque
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A critic once said something about Morrissey that boiled his particular talent down to effectively using words you'd never otherwise hear in a pop song. That was before the Decemberists were born (and said critic had obviously not heard Elvis Costello). There aren't just words you'd never hear; most of the topics themselves are new territory.
Picaresque - with a title like that, you should know what you're in for - is the Decemberists' most sharply focused collection of prodigiously literate folk-pop, with perhaps a bit more of a human heart than before. Trumped-up, over-the-top songs of infant queens and gay espionage are balanced with smaller portraits of individual love and loss, especially "The Engine Driver", their finest song to date.
But, while the critical reaction to this disc has almost unanimously named it the best Decemberists yet, I feel like the small step forward in songwriting is offset by a step back in production values and artistry. This is a nice-sounding, well-made record, but a bit one-dimensional in sound, as richly orchestrated as it is. Its predecessor, Her Majesty The Decemberists, shined the curving surfaces of Colin Meloy's work to a sparkle in a perfectly modern way. Picaresque shows the effortless confidence of a band in its stride playing live in a hall; I wonder what the closer, more embellished sound of Her Majesty might have done for this.
The key to liking the Decemberists is not to take them too seriously. I'm sure they have fans who hang on their every thousand-dollar word; they're missing the essential goofiness of this outfit. The amateur drama re-enactment photos in the liner book give it away. It's all in good fun.
The Decemberists certainly aren't for everyone, and you're to be excused if you never wanted to hear again from the guy who got all the leads in the high school plays. It's this that will keep them for now from the top ranks of my table; while they've made 3 very solid albums now, I would like to hear them continue on their progression towards a more personable and toothsome end product. They'd do well to pull out their Richard Thompson records - which they undoubtedly own - and find how to help their tales grow deeper roots.
I've searched high and low for other interesting takes on this record, but critics are swooning in unison: "he's literate, he's getting better, and damned if we can find anything wrong with it".
The Engine Driver (mp3)
16 Military Wives (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at April 10, 2005 08:10 PM
Comments
Nice - I really like the song "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect", and thought I would post a link to where you could download it from my blog, but I realized that I had never added it to my blog.
Anyways, I just uploaded it to my server:
Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect, in case you haven't heard it.
Posted by: Lester at April 11, 2005 12:48 AM
Damn it, you're like me and don't allow html in comments ;-)
http://www.furtherstudios.com/architect.mp3
I love your blog. Consistently great music.
Posted by: Lester at April 11, 2005 12:49 AM
Thanks Lester...also a nice tune. Many thanks to Borrowed Tunes.
Posted by: Catherine at April 11, 2005 07:17 PM
Thanks for the kind words!
Posted by: borrowed_tunes at April 12, 2005 07:02 AM
I like!
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