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The
Decemberists
5
Songs
The
Tain
Castaways
And Cutouts
Her
Majesty
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I’ve
decided to cover all the Decemberists' work in one review here,
as I discovered them all at around the same time last year.
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When you
first put any of these records on you’re greeted with a
sense of odd familiarity and intrigue at the same time. The music
is similar to stuff you may have heard before, but with a slightly
unnerving twist, and when you listen to the lyrics you start to
picture scenes from things like the ITV series 'Sharpe's Rifles'.
The subject matter dealt with is very original and at the same
time very old. Soldiers at war, vagabonds, pirates, dead children,
Los Angeles, lost souls, legionnaires and Chinese trapeze artists
shacking up with communists during revolutions are just some of
the subjects dealt with. |
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This
inimitable style gives the Decemberists a certain romanticism often
lacking in music today and keeps you coming back to listen again to
tales that were only written about in old boys' adventure books before
now. The music is the perfect accompaniment for these tales and they
seem to have a natural ability to create sounscapes that put you right
in the middle of the often odd, but exciting, stories.
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Now I should
mention, this will certainly not be to everyone's taste. Some
may find the Decemberists a little too “Grandad's war songs”
or just plain “not modern enough”, but for those looking
for something a little different, whilst not wanting to stray
too far from their pop sensibilities, this is just the ticket.
Having said that, these wounded soldiers aren’t afraid to
experiment a little when taking shelter from the mortar fire.
'California Youth And Beauty Brigade', 'I Was Meant For The Stage'
and a few others can veer off into eight minute Victorian-styled
prog rock at times, and there’s usually some odd shit going
on somewhere in every song if you take a little time to find it.
It is, however, 'The Tain' EP that is the most interesting in
this respect. It’s just one song, just shy of twenty minutes
long, which takes you on a rollercoaster ride through genres and
leaves you breathless. But even in the poppier numbers, the genius
of the lyrics is enough to set them apart. If you’ve ever
heard any First World War poems or anything similar, then you’ll
get the idea.
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Both
'Castaways And Cutouts' and 'Her Majesty' are great albums and the only
full length records currently available. The '5 Songs' EP is very good
but contains songs that later appear on the other records, although
its exclusive tracks make it worthy of a purchase. 'The Tain' is a great
record to own, but you may want to start somewhere else, as it’s
kind of limited in appeal to non-fans.
www.decemberists.com
5 out of 5
John
Lappin
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