I’m on day two of listening to the new Decemberists and loving it. It reminds me of REM circa 1986 but not in a copycat kinda way. Stand out tracks for me: “This is why we fight” and “Dear Avery”. More from Last FM
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The Decemberists have been around for 11 years, which in indie-rock years is about 150.
The bandmembers built their name on a unique style of symphonic pop coupled with singer Colin Meloy‘s literary, historical-narrative lyrics. Their early albums included ballads about infant monarchs and the Spanish Armada and featured accordions as often as guitars.
As they progressed, the Decemberists got more and more ambitious with their albums, culminating in 2009′s The Hazards of Love. That release was a full on rock opera that some hailed as a masterpiece of a concept album and others derided as a Dungeons and Dragons soundtrack.
Since the band clearly pushed that element to its logical extreme, where do they go next?
