The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

After flirting with 12 minute songs that verged into Jethro Tull territory on 2006's The Crane Wife, The Decemberists decided to dive headfirst into the pool of self-indulgent prog-rock with 2009's Hazards of Love. After getting that out of their system, Colin Meloy and company have thankfully decided to get back to basics with the loose and vibrant The King Is Dead. Meloy, always quite the literate wordsmith, even amusingly acknowledges the pretentiousness of their recent work in the rollicking "Calamity Song": "Hetty Green/ Queen of supply-side bonhomie bone-drab/ (Know what I mean?)." Uh.... suuuuure we know what you mean.

The band's trademark English folk influences are still the foundation, but this time they have added more American influences to their sound. In particular, there is a distinct American country/roots feel to this batch of songs. The opener "Don't Carry It All" would fit perfectly on Tom Petty's Wildflowers album while there are more than a few nods to R.E.M. throughout the album. Meloy openly admits that he had R.E.M. in mind when he wrote some of the songs for this album. He even went as far to get Peter Buck to play on three tracks: "Don't Carry It All," "Calamity Song" (which would fit nicely on Murmur or Fables of the Reconstruction) and first single "Down By The Water." However, the secret weapon on this album is Gillian Welch. Her sublime background harmony vocals launch seven of the ten tunes into the stratosphere. Her voice meshes perfectly with Meloy's. In particular, she helps make the chorus of the Celtic-tinged "Rox in the Box" soar.

It is early in the year but I have a hunch that this album will wind up in my Top 10 list by the end of the year. Every song is an absolute winner and the melodies will stick in your head days after you've last listened to this album. Highlights include "Calamity Song," "Rox in the Box," "January Hymn," "Don't Carry It All" and "Down By The Water." You can check out a video of the band performing "Down By The Water" with Gillian Welch on Conan below.