The King is Dead opens the album: “Here we come to a turning of the season.” They are quite correct in their warning, as this music thereafter is for another place in time. If you are looking for the morose whimsicalness the Decemberists usually intertwine into breathtaking tracks, you might want to look in another prairie. Don’t get me wrong, the album is not bad, in face it’s quite good, but it stands in stark contrast to their previous album, The Hazards of Love (not to mention their entire discography).

For the most part, the sound of Colin Meloy’s voice is easily recognized, which is perhaps the only reason why one might think this is actually the Decemberists. Although I am not entirely convinced Colin Meloy didn’t just get lost in Texas during their last tour and decide to start an all new alt-country band. Even the lyrics are barely on par with the distinct descriptions and strange pairings the Decemberists have built a career on.

Let’s compare this to the concept of the new reality show Bridalplasty: fiancée wins a whole new body via plastic surgery, she shows up at the altar and you basically get married to this stranger. The only familiar thing (maybe) is a personality behind this alien look. That is how I see The King is Dead: completely and drastically different with a slight hint of their enigmatic personality that in the past was incredibly apparent. At this point, however, it’s really difficult to find any hint of who they ever were, although they have definitely included who everyone else was.

There is a reason I began listening to the Decemberists – this album does not reflect what I came to appreciate about them. I have no problem with the album besides the fact the Decemberists are supposedly the artists; it sounds very similar to the instrumentation and lyricism I appreciate from other musicians. I actually like the twang in the new tendency towards alt-country, but this is not who they are. Mid-career crisis? Must reinvent to move on? Let’s hope they shake this feeling, get the accordion out, and starting singing about death and communism.

It has been said, this is the Decemberists attempt at creating beauty in the simple. The tracks are beautiful, with their melodic harmonica and acoustic guitar; they are obviously drawing from the origins of folk and blues, but I think the biggest disappointment is the lack of storytelling. The transition between The Hazards of Love and The King is Dead seems impossible; this isn’t even close to anything they have ever recorded. Perhaps, I am just not ready, or, perhaps, the king is not dead, he was beaten with a banjo.

The Decemberists – Rox In The Box by Vicente P.S.
The Decemberists — Down By The Water by buzzlegoose