“Instant Indie Classic,” Consequence of Sound’s newest feature, is Jon Slusar’s look at some of the our generation’s best indie albums, which may already deserve to be deemed as “classics”. In Jon’s first article, he looks at The Decemberists‘ 2005 album Picaresque…

Forbidden love, espionage, lost lovers, protest and of course, revenge. No, I’m not talking a high schools musical, but rather, The Decemberists 3rd, and most theatric album Picaresque.

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It’s no coincidence that I decided to write feature this classic album on its soon to be 3-year-anniversary of its release (March 22nd). Picaresque is one of the few albums that I can consider flawless, delivering countless dramatic themes over the course of nearly an hour.

Perhaps the album’s best attribute is Colin Meloy’s clever song writing, which consistently throughout the album. Whether he is talking about a spanish princess (“The Infanta”), star-crossed lovers (“We Both Go Down Together”), male prostitutes (“On The Bus Mall”), or even a tale of revenge (“The Mariners Revenge Song”), each song offers a gripping and engaging story.

What’s more, the use of clever rhyming (“Meet me on my vast veranda, my sweet untouched Miranda”), intense and complex vocabulary (“I feel on the playing field, the work of an errant heel”), and beautiful imagery (“Four score years, living down in this rain swept town, sea salt tears, swimming round as the rain comes down”), complements the album’s story in such a way that it often leaves listeners humming and singing lyrics throughout the day.

Of course,  like the two albums prior, the rich, epic ballads make their way into Picaresque as well, most notably seen in “The Bagmans Gambit,” a tale of espionage and love and “The Mariners Revenge Song,” a 9 minute song about love, loss, and revenge. There is also no absence of stunning indie pop either. “We Both Go Down Together,” being their “star crossed lovers” song, “16 Military Wives,” a protest song stating “If America does, it so, its so” and also it slams the media (“And the anchorperson on TV goes ‘la-di-da-di-da-di-di-di-da’ “), and “The Engine Driver,” another song that touches on the subject love, and the doubts that come with it (“and if you don’t love me, let me go”).

And for these attributes, people fall in love with The Decemeberists. Picaresque is essentially a giant, musical storybook. Each song is its own story, exhibiting the ability to almost come to life in such a way that the album could translate into a perfect on stage performance, if someone wanted to take on the taske.

Overall, The Decemberists’ Picaresque can be described by many words, but is most easily defined as being “remarkable”. Never before has an album made me really imagine the songs being acted out, and make me feel remorse for the characters that Colin illustrates so perfectly. Since I first heard the album, it truly has consistently been on repeat in my mind.

Check Out:
“We Both Go Down Together”
“Military Wives”

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Categories: Instant Indie Classic
Tags: Jon Slusar, The Decemberists