The Decemberists are back from their four-year hiatus with their new album What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.
Back in January 2011, The Decemberists entertained their smaller fan base with their sixth studio album, The King is Dead, which featured faster tempo songs such as “Calamity Song” and “Down By the River.” But even at the core, the album was just as similar and rich sounding as their previous alternative folk catalogue.
Unfortunately, keyboarder and back-up vocalist Jenny Conlee was diagnosed with breast cancer later in 2011. This caused the band to go on a four-year hiatus, only putting out a couple of singles (one of which was featured in the “Hunger Games” film) and making a brief cameo in the TV show “Parks and Recreation.”
As of Jan. 20, 2015, The Decemberists are back with their new album just four years and one week later. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World will definitely make a wonderful addition to their touring setlist.
At the core, this album is straight-up Decemberists, with a great balance of high guitars, low pianos and some soft percussion in between. It’s still the soft jam that most fans are used to. The Decemberists have always had the sound quality of their music as a main focus and their attention to detail is not lost on this album.
The main difference is that this album feels a bit louder and upbeat than their other efforts. It feels much more like an alternative album than a folk or indie album. If I could compare this to anything, it sounds a lot like an REM album, which is a band that has played a clear influence in The Decemberists’ whole discography.
This album is the first of their works where they’ve used horns and electric instruments, which are always welcome, especially in the alternative genre. When listening to it for the first time you feel it isn’t that different than anything else you’ve heard by them, but the more you listen, the more intricacies you pick up and the more detail you hear.
The one thing I can say that is exactly the same as any other of their albums is lead-singer Colin Melloy. Melloy is well known for his soft and slow voice that is notorious for pronouncing words in a very unique way.
This album really shines when you’re able to really splice your attention between the vocals and the instrumentals. The instrumentals in certain songs could belong in songs from Grouplove or OneRepublic, possibly certain songs from Panic! At the Disco, but Melloy’s voice is what really cements this album as flagship Decemberists.
This album is so crisp and clean that it’s really difficult not to like it. However, if you listened to their first single (“Make You Better”) and you’re expecting all of the songs to be like it, you would be incorrect and might not like it. Melloy’s voice also makes the album feel a bit slower than it actually is.
You will really like this album if you’re a big fan of folk music and can really appreciate a group of talented musicians that can work well together. You’ll appreciate this album immensely if you like bands like REM, Arcade Fire, or the National, all of who have similar sounds and would be fantastic in concert together. Like any album from them, you’ll like it if you have seen the Decemberists live or plan to when they come to Chicago.
The Decemberists will come to Chicago on March 27th at the Chicago Theatre, and if you want to see how their official declaration of the end of their hiatus plays out, you should absolutely see them live.