4. The Decemberists

4. The Decemberists-
Hazards of Love

The Decemberists being on a major label has sparked a lot of controversy in the indie world forcing critics to ask, "what exactly is Indie rock"? It seems the answer, when asked to indie artists is, as long as the band is allowed its own creative control and doesn't lose their artistic integrity, they qualify to be included in the club. That being the case, The Decemberists have managed to do both regardless of being with a mega-corp. The beauty of The Decemberists is Colin Meloy's ability to tell a narrative through song and make it sound meaningful. They are one of the best live acts I have ever seen and have the ability to convert you to their side merely by seeing their live performance. Each performance is different as well, unlike other bands, who play the same rehearsed performance from night to night. I have always considered The Decemberists influences to be the heart of Classic Rock...Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes and Genesis. With this LP, they incorporate a little more of the darker, heavier side of rock (there is certainly some Black Sabbath in this LP). Hazards of Love tells a story of love and death, a man falling for a cursed woman and a man who kills all his children only to die at their ghostly hands. Every song weaves together to form this narrative in this seventeen song opus. Colin has said he was angry at being on a major label and their popularity and wrote this as a way to say...."see if you like this mess". Apparently his master plan didn't work, so he went with the popularity of it (it is a grand album) and they did their entire tour playing the entire LP front to back for the first 1/2 of the show and playing some of their other favorites and covers in the 2nd 1/2. Truly amazing. When I saw them in San Fran, it was probably the fifth or sixth time they had done this and hadn't worked out all the kinks yet. Colin's hands were bleeding by the time they got to the end. Who does this anymore? The Decemberists...that's who. They just released an animated movie to go along with the LP. A giant video for the entire CD.



Annan Water

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