BLOWIN' INDIE WIND The Decembrists

Author: RICHARD

It's fun to hold personal vendettas against artists. In late 2003, when I interviewed the Rapture, and was treated like an inconsequential idiot, I made sure to routinely bash their much-acclaimed album "Echoes" in whatever writing outlet I had access to. But before you throw the red flag of ethics at me, I also didn't like that album much before I met the band - three songs are good, the rest of it is terrible. Maybe they had a right to be angry when I asked them why their album sucked so much, and that's probably why they rescinded my free ticket to their concert, but these are unimportant details (for the record, I'm kidding, except about the part where the Rapture were jerks).

Although I have never met the Decemberists, I've heard several reports of their unpleasantness when they graced Middlebury's campus in the fall of 2003 for a concert. Rilo Kiley were also rumored to be similarly disagreeable when they came here last year, but they're all around terrible, so there's no guilt in disliking them. The guilt in the Decemberists' case comes from the fact that they're good. I can't dislike them, no matter how rude they were to WRMC members and the show's sound crew.

The Portland, Ore. quintet's third album, "Picaresque," continues their streak of quality, without changing their sound much at all. The chamber-pop aesthetic is still there, as well as the extended song lengths with borderline-prog arrangements, and the sensitive, poetic lyrics, courtesy of frontman/mastermind Colin Meloy. If you're into brief, generalized descriptions - I know I am - I'd describe the Decemberists as Belle & Sebastian on steroids. Imagine Stuart Murdoch has been replaced by an edgier, more spastic American, and is backed by a bunch of Major League baseball players, and you've got the idea.

One slight difference between "Picaresque" and its predecessors is its greater number of upbeat songs, which balance out the wistful ballads. This is a welcomed progression, as the more energetic, faster compositions fit in well with the band's bombastic, theatrical aesthetic - the liner notes depict the band as actors on stage with old-timey, Vaudevillian lettering. The album's first song, "The Infanta," begins with some background noise and weird howling, before galloping drums and Meloy's voice beckons, "Here she comes in her palaquin/ On the back of an elephant." The composition, supplemented by organs, pianos, tambourines, strings and horns, is incredibly invigorating and is a fittingly triumphant opener. As mentioned earlier, the Decemberists are one of the most enjoyably bombastic indie rock bands out there, and they're enjoyable because they actually have the songwriting and musicianship talent to back it up. The arrangements are wonderfully intricate, and Meloy's keen sense for melody and lyrical prowess help to fashion highly memorable compositions.

The maritime aesthetic of the Decemberists is one of their major components, and it is brought to the forefront on one of the album's most poignant ballads, "From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)." Meloy sings ambiguously of a person waiting to hear news of a loved one who has gone to sea. While they lyrics are simple, they are exceptionally moving, especially coupled with Meloy's impassioned, despondent delivery: "Four score years / Living down in this rain swept town / Sea salt tears / Swimming round as the rain comes down / Mr. Postman, do you have a letter for me?" Despite the size of the band, the group can strip down their sound considerably with "Lost at Sea" only containing an acoustic guitar, a faint timpani, a harmonium and ghostly backing vocals courtesy of violinist Petra Haden. The band follows the wistful with the celebratory, with the next track, "16 Military Wives," being a decidedly effervescent affair, filled with horns and plenty of bravado that fades out in a blaze of "Hey Jude"-ish glory. "Picaresque" is bound to please. It's an extraordinarily fun album. The Decemberists are making some amazing, truly invigorating music, and despite their lack of tact when asking sound engineers to turn up their guitar volume at concerts, I can't help but sing this band's praises.