Chroniques et points de vue:

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Capitol raised a few eyebrows when they signed indie stalwarts the Decemberists. There's nothing blatantly commercial about the Portland quintet, from Colin Meloy's quavery voice and hyper-literate lyrics to the band's wide-ranging music, which encompasses baroque pop, prog rock, and dozens of other styles. Then again, he did once sing, 'l was made for the stage,' and those who've seen the group live know this to be true. Sure, they're storytellers, but they're entertainers, too--just not in the Top 40 sense. Never ones to play it safe, their major label debut takes its inspiration from a Japanese folk tale. lt travels from the Replacements-style balladry of 'The Crane Wife 3'--which joins words like 'Each feather it fell from skin/'Til threadbare while she grew thin' to the melody from 'Here Comes a Regular'--to the ELP hoedown of three-part epic 'The lsland' to the haunting duet between Meloy and Laura Veirs on 'Yankee Bayonet (l Will Be Home Then).' lt's an impressively eclectic effort that somehow manages to avoid sounding scattered. Co-produced by Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) and Tucker Martine (the Long Winters), the Decemberists's fourth full-length is richer, less immediately catchy than its predecessor (there's nothing as bouncy here as Picaresque's 'Sixteen Military Wives'). lt's also a deeper work that resists snap judgments. Some records hit you over the head with their brilliance, others need time to percolate. Time will tell if The Crane Wife is the Decemberists's best album--it's certainly their most ambitious so far. --Kathleen C. Fennessy









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Produits similaires:
     la suite

Produits similaires:

• Wincing The Night Away
• Neon Bible
• Picaresque
• Return To Cookie Mountain
• We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
• la suite

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Disc 1:

1. The Crane Wife 3
2. The Island-Come & See/The Landlord’s Daughter/You’ll Not Feel The Drowning
3. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
4. O Valencia!
5. The Perfect Crime #2
6. When The War Came
7. Shankhill Butchers
8. Summersong
9. The Crane Wife 1 and 2
10. Sons and Daughters

Note: - the crane wife
Colin Meloy's theatrical and hyperliterate band makes an unexpected move to Capitol Records, and delivers a record that matches the ambition of its new imprint. Meloy's taletelling will always define the Decemberists, but The Crane Wife puts as much weight on the music as on the lyrics, and here the band gels into a tight, intuitive unit.

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Note: - Loving "Wife"
The Decemberists make that riskiest of leaps in "The Crane Wife" -- to a major label, away from Kill Rock Stars. Hopefully that will get this beloved indie band the attention they deserve.

But a major label jump doesn't matter if the end product isn't good. And the Decemberists' fourth full-length album not only preserves their melodious sea-chanty sound, but it is also probably the best work this band has ever done, topping their previous album "Picaresque." From start to finish, this music is warm and enchantingly imaginative.

"And under the boughs unbound/All clothed in a snowy shroud/She had no heart so hardened/All under the boughs unbound," Colin Meloy murmurs in the opening song. The wintry lyrics make a stark contrast to the strummy little tune, fleshed out with intermittent piano. It's catchy and melodious, but much in the way that their previous songs were.

It's a good song, and a solid introduction to a string of similarly good songs, like the folky "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)," rollicking acoustic marches, and dreamy nautical-summer ballads. The Decemberists also dabble a bit in rock in the middle of the album, like the fast-moving riffs of "Perfect Crime #2," before switching back to familiar territory.

The Decemberists started off being good, but rapidly ascended to indie-rock greatness as they grew into their sound and made it more robust. "The Crane Wife" is just the natural progression of that, and it's hard to see how anyone could not like these jolly, catchy songs, with the charming lyrics and poignant imagery. Well, maybe if you don't like the sea.

They take some musical risks as well, with two songs clocking in at over ten minutes apiece. One is a meditative ballad, and the other is a sprawling, solid experimental-folk song with lots of ringing strings and epic piano. But at its heart, "Crane Wife" is all about the solid, catchy folk melodies, made of acoustic guitar and bits of keyboard and piano as well. And, of course, the ol' reliable accordion, which gives it the feeling of sailors standing on a harbor, making music to pass the time.

Colin Meloy has the same odd, a-melodious voice, which becomes more endearing as the album goes on. His lyrics are probably the best aspect of the entire album -- Meloy has a knack for strange, fitting turns of phrase. "Folks bobbing in the blue of the bay/in deep, far beneath/all the dead sailors slowly slipping to sleep... and summer blows away/and quietly gets swallowed by a wave..."

"The Crane Wife" is the best album the Decemberists have done to date, with a mix of polish and rough talent, and certainly promises that they will only be getting better.

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Note: - * We'll build our walls of aluminum, we'll fill our mouths with cinnamon ...
This is a pretty good Decemberists album even if they're on a major label now. (good for them, but not good for us because Major label = selling more albums=playing at bigger venues=BLAH. Personnally, I still prefer Picaresque, I think it is their best.
But this one is quite good and has two 12 minute songs, along with an outstanding production and layout design. The songwriting is excellent as usual, Colin Meloy will always amaze me with his short stories and pirate-whale swallowing-original tales. I recommend this album to any Decemberists fan. If you liked Picaresque, you will like this forsure.