Decemberists provide insights to new album
So, last week news came that hyper-literate Portland rockers otherwise known as The Decemberists are indeed almost finished with a new LP, Hazards of Love. However, as fine and dandy as the news was, not much info on the album was released at that point. Lucky for us, Paste Magazine recently managed to get some exclusive info about the album’s details from Mr. Colin Meloy himself.
In the discussion, Meloy elaborated quite a bit about many aspects of the upcoming release. He was eager to discuss the album’s style: “It’s pretty ambitious. It’s pretty dense. There’s lots of lots and lots and lots of guitars.” Thankfully, these all seem to be makings for a great release.
The album’s lyrical content was explained by Meloy as “one continuous story” that was “initially conceived as
a musical . . . an amalgam of motifs from folk songs, an experiment of weaving them together into a narrative,” he further digressed.” Basically, the product of listening to too much Anne Briggs and Nic Jones and Shirley Collins.”
Additionally, the frontman described the record’s sound as heavily influenced by three main touchstones: the psych-folk stylings of Pentangle, use of synth based compositions along the lines of those composed for A Clockwork Orange by Wendy Carlos and,”sludgy stoner-metal” by Electric Wizard. Meloy continued, “If you can imagine an amalgam of those three things, that’s what the record sounds like.”
Sounds like it’s going to be one hell of a ride, especially since I cannot imagine an “amalgam” of those three things, but I’m sure after the album comes out I’ll be able to put my finger on it. I don’t know how The Decemberists can do stoner-metal (was The Tain stoner-metal?) or heavy vintage synth, but, as always, I’m sure they’ll bring the goods.
As far as a release date, they are “shooting for April.” I guess, we won’t know what this crazy thing will sound like for a while. But, The Decemberists will tour in support of their Always the Bridesmaid singles project, which will lend little help to pinpointing just how this new album will actually sound, which will undoubtedly be good nonetheless. It’s good to hear that they’re healthy and ready to roll again.
The Decemberists 2008 Tour Dates:
11/03 - New York, NY @ Late Night w/ Conan O’Brien
11/05 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 *
11/06 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theater *
11/07 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory *
11/08 - Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live *
11/09 - Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall *
11/11 - Montclair, NK @ Wellmont Theatre *
11/24 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern *
11/25 - San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theater *
11/29 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
11/30 - Seattle, WA @ Moor Theatre *
* = w/ Loch Lomond
Tickets to select dates are available via ticketmaster.com.
Sep 15th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
[...] Decemberists’ most recent full-length, The Hazards of Love, is, as frontman Colin Meloy describes it, a “continous story… an amalgam of motifs from folk songs, an experiment of weaving [...]
Feb 10th, 2009 at 10:05 am
[...] blogs) you probably know that those Decemberists folks are about to unleash a rock opus entitled Hazards of Love on March 24th. But for those who don’t, know this: the group’s 5th LP will chronicle [...]
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Nov 5th, 2008 at 9:00 am
[...] It seems like just yesterday we were taking in the sights and sounds of Colin Meloy’s solo endeavors. But given the news of late, The Decemberists are certainly back in the forefront in the music world. In fact, between the Always the Bridesmaid singles collection and North American tour, which is set to kick off later tonight, we’ll likely be seeing quite a bit of the Oregon oufit over the next few months. And that’s without mentioning the band’s forthcoming fifth studio album. [...]