Picaresque

Performer: The Decemberists
Producer: Chris Walla; The Decemberists; Chris Walla
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: The Decemberists: Rachel Blumberg (vocals, drums); Colin Meloy (vocals); Chris Funk (guitar); Jenny Conlee (accordion, keyboards); Nate Query (bass instrument). Personnel: Eric Stern (tenor); Colin Meloy (guitar); Christopher Walla (electric guitar); Petra Haden (violin); Jeff London (shofar); Joe Cunningham (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Paul Brainard (trumpet); Tom Hill (trombone); Aaron Stewart (tamtam); John Roderick (sound effects). Additional personnel: Petra Haden, Eric Stern, Sean Nelson (vocals); Christopher Walla (guitar); Aaron Stewart (tom tom); Jeff London, Joe Cunningham, Tom Hill, Paul Brainard. Audio Mixers: Christopher Walla; Troy Tietjen. Recording information: Hall of Justice, Seattle, WA (08/2004-09/2004); Prescott Church, Portland, OR (08/2004-09/2004). Illustrator: Carson Ellis. Photographer: Alicia J. Rose. Unknown Contributor Roles: Chris Funk; Nate Query; Rachel Blumberg. The Decemberists' third full-length release takes the fanciful lyrical subjects and defiantly non-rock musical tendencies of CASTAWAYS AND CUT-OUTS and HER MAJESTY THE DECEMBERISTS and infuses them with the more muscular and electric sound of the 2003 mini-concept album, THE TAIN. The combination provides singer/songwriter Colin Meloy and crew with their first true masterpiece, an album that not only fulfills, but exceeds, the promise of their earlier records. Meloy's pet obsessions with historical romance and the sea get their due, culminating in the nearly nine-minute suite "The Mariner's Revenge Song," but he also examines more real-world topics in the Morrissey-like portrait of runaway teenage hustlers "On the Bus Mall" and the embittered social commentary of "16 Military Wives." The true highlights, however, are the sarcastically jaunty Kinks-like shuffle "The Sporting Life," a first-person tale of dishonor on the playing fields set to the record's most insidiously catchy tune, and the churning opener, "The Infanta," where Meloy's linguistic over-achievements mesh surprisingly well with Chris Walla's assertive, harder-edged production.

Rolling Stone (p.77) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "[A] triumph of theatrical imagination: the culmination of the Decemberists' steady march to greatness in four years of enriched storytelling and folk-rock invention..." Spin (p.61) - Ranked #30 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" Spin (p.101) - "The sharp voiced Portland punk-folk troubadour's music is rife with tales of Victorian seafarers and waifish ghosts." - Grade: B+ Entertainment Weekly (No. 812, p.71) - "Colin Meloy is so darn brilliant....the music [and lyrics are] equally eclectic..." - Grade: A- Uncut (p.116) - 3 stars out of 5 - "PICARESQUE cuts deeper and sharper than previous Decembrists efforts." Alternative Press (p.116) - 5 out of 5 - "[With] a wit so bizarre and vaudevillian beauty so ultimately endearing that by the end, Meloy's sprawling form of theatrical folk has us all..." Magnet (p.52) - Ranked #13 in Magnet's "The 20 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[With] accordion, Smiths-like guitar and haunting, pitch-perfect moods." Magnet (p.95) - "PICARESQUE glows with it-band imminence....Whether part of the Walla-of-sound production or in reaction to it, Meloy's voice is louder here."

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the Decemberists burst onto the indie-rock scene in the early 2000s, weaving complex, literary narratives (courtesy of singer/songwriter Colin Meloy) through layers of chiming, acoustic-based folk-rock. Meloy's literary bent doesn't express itself only in his richly rendered lyrics, either; in 2004, he contributed to the music-based 33 1/3 series of books by writing one about the Replacements' classic LET IT BE album, which was a surprisingly important influence on his own music.

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