The Decemberists: The Crane Wife

[Tacoma]

Bored with the unrelenting stream of new-era emo-metal and hip-hop my associate here has been spewing out of the speakers, I plugged in the headphones and spooled this album up: The Crane Wife.


I absolutely love this album. From the funky swagger of The Perfect Crime, to the creepy story of The Landlord's Daughter, to the bittersweet sing-song of Yankee Bayonet, and all points in-between, I am never disappointed listening to this album.

Solid musicianship, assured and slightly oblique lyrics... and a refreshing lack of angst. I like their other albums, but this one is my favorite. The Crane Wife I, II, and III are excellent.

Anyway.

 

[Brett]

Freak

 

[Stephen]

I've been a big Decemberist Fan since I saw them play at Kilby about five years ago or so. They just have suck a unique, almost ghostly sound. And their lyrics! It's not everyday that you've got a guy with a masters in creative writing doing rock.

 

[Tacoma]

Yeah, he does a great job. I'm tempted to call their music... alternative folk or something... but the influence of the last 40years of music shows. I smell some Pink Floyd in some of the songs on The Crane Wife.... and the 70's are all over The Perfect Crime.

They have SUCH a unique sound, I think you meant.


"Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" was one of my favorite songs for a long time. Not often you hear kind of a love song with references to Nazi death camps.
The video for "Sixteen Military Wives" is fairly humourous, to boot. I'd like to see them live.