Far from revolutionary but an undiminished return.
Six years on from ‘I’ll be Your Girl’, The Decemberists are back on four sides with their ninth studio album. The second single ‘Joan in the Garden’ along with some band background was shared here in March and a live video of the track ‘Oh, No!’ was posted at the end of May. Being Colin Meloy, there’s no surprise that a film by Emir Kusturica and a “batshit” Lidia Yuknavitch novel lie behind these tracks. AUK’s Jonathan Aird recently described them as the indie-folk band that outdoes them all, a Portland band in love with the English folk sound, and tremendous live.
The album bio describes ‘As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again’ as a proper double, split into four thematic sides. The Decemberists have renewed their creative partnership with Tucker Martine. There are also contributions from The Shins’ James Mercer and R.E.M.’s Mike Mills.
The dozen tracks here are an agreeable balance of indie and folk. Folk-tinged offerings include: ‘The Reapers’, a flute-driven track (think Jethro Tull) about life’s inevitability and ‘The Long White Veil’ with some beautiful steel accompaniment. ‘William Fitzwilliam’ playfully soundtracks Hilary Mantel’s 15th-century world, although it is doubtful Henry the Eighth’s enforcer wore star-silvered sneakers and rode a skateboard. Another is the haunting ‘Don’t Go to the Woods’ that could be an authentic folk tale of yore. ‘The Black Maria’ evokes the famous Pastor Niemöller quote: First they came for… It is a powerful track with some wonderful, nostalgic brass played by Kelly Pratt.
Indie tracks include the first single ‘Burial Ground’ which has a fine supporting video and features James Mercer. ‘Oh No!’ is more at the Buena Vista Social Club on the album. ‘All I Want is You’ is pretty self-explanatory: “Don’t want summer Mondays/ Don’t want stunning wordplay/ All I want is you”. Where the Wives of Ohio fit in is not that important. ‘Born to the Morning’ is a synth-driven track with added birdsong and some quirky lyrics, “I was once a troubled young canary/ I was once as you are now/ And how I struggled just to be contrary/ But everything I did was quite allowed”. Quite. “America Made Me” is a clever examination of the opioid crisis in the US. Jenny Conlee’s piano and accompanying brass makes it feel deceptively upbeat. Meloy can write songs that fit the here and now so well when he turns his mind to it. ‘Tell Me What’s On Your Mind’ has a great bass line from Nate Query.
The penultimate track is ‘Never Satisfied’. Chris Funk’s jangly guitar starts up that now familiar, well-oiled sound. A satisfying place to pause. The final is an audacious 19-minute prog epic ‘Joan in the Garden’. If you persevere to 15:53… you almost anticipate a guest appearance from the likes of Geddy Lee. It is somewhat overindulgent (too many hosannas?) but takes up one full side of vinyl and provides the album’s title. The leaner twelve tracks are much more rewarding.
Overall there is everything The Decemberists fan would desire. Meloy knows how to craft melodies and his voice is as ageless as ever. There’s no equivalent ‘Down by the Water’ or ‘This is Why We Fight’ but Meloy has written a fine, eclectic collection of songs. They offer the time-proven quirky rhyme, Old English terms (sous, dreck, sables) with a generous share of accessible lyrics. The band are also at the peak of their powers and the forays of additional brass and steel sound just right, as do the harmonies. Indeed, these songs should sound tremendous live. Even as our world keeps changing, there’s always room for another Decemberists album.
