4/5: Indie-neo-folk favorites, The Decemberists make their major label debut with The Crane Wife. Folk101 lets you know how it measures up to their previous work.
Colin Meloy, the singer/songwriter at the center of indie-neo-folk sensations, The Decemberists, possesses one of the most distinctive voices in music today. And when I write “voice,” this is not only in reference to the sound produced by his vocal cords, but also his unusual writing style.
These elements have consistently formed the foundation for the group’s music. Nevertheless, their new album, The Crane Wife, marks several interesting departures for these critical darlings.
First, there is his physical voice and the band’s musical accompaniment. A slightly nasal, wavering and inherently youthful tone imbue Meloy’s folky melodies and supporting harmonies with an unwavering sense of longing and lessons hard-learned during a merciless life. It would not be a Decemberists’ album without it.
However, this record reveals a group of musicians more open to experimentation than ever before. In addition to the traditional acoustic guitars, fiddles and Bodhrán drums, several tracks jump out as something resembling progressive rock anthems. For example, the twelve-and-a-half minute epic, “The Island/Come and See/The L” works well as the band moves seamlessly through three distinct movements, often invoking the hypnotizing keyboard work of bands such as Yes.
This is the second major departure. Meloy’s mythological, tall-tale style of writing persists (the album’s title actually comes from a classic Japanese folk story). However, this time around, the group adds a more expansive musical accompaniment as an added layer of meaning and signification. Songs like “Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home)” and “O Valencia” feature spectacular duet vocal parts and booming, complex instrumentation that create an articulate, heartfelt dialogue between the singers.
While there are some instances where this sense of adventure works against The Decemberists (most notably in The Perfect Crime #2, which sounds like a bad ‘80s pop song), overall it exposes listeners to a welcome new dimension of this group’s music. In the end, The Crane Wife retains many of the elements we have come to expect from Meloy & Co., and at the same time, shows that the well of inspiration remains deep for these up-and-comers.
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