Plenty For All: My Top 5 Albums of 2011

The King is Dead by The Decemberists

Spotify: The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

Twitter: @TheDecemberists

How do you follow an album like The Hazards of Love? Talk about digging your own grave. What’s next after an epic 17 song narrative concept piece, more of the same? The answer could make or break you. I would like to say that I felt bad for Colin Meloy of The Decemberists for having put himself in that situation, but he proved more than up to the task by managing to actually pull off a decent (if not different) follow up this year.

For their 6^th LP, The Decemberists shirked concept entirely and released a palette cleanser of an album with The King is Dead. On this record we find The Decemberists trading baroque pop-rock for a decidedly more folk-rock sound and succeeding in every possible way. Where previous records often conjured images of a decidedly more European flavor (Legionaires, Chimbley Sweeps, and the like) The King is Dead’s stripped down yet masterfully played and well-rounded songs feel more like classic Americana. While the themes, language, and musical virtuosity remain the same as ever, the intent is simpler and more relaxed; the songs themselves seem less self-conscious. The end result is an incredible album that is honestly difficult for me to dissect because I find myself loving every minute of it, from the hoedown beat of Calamity Song, to the weeping guitar of Dear Avery.

The Decemberists may very well decide to return to the more baroque sound of their previous albums in the future, but I’d like to think that with The King is Dead they have discovered another dimension to their music. I don’t expect future releases to sound like this one, just like I didn’t expect this one to sound like The Hazards of Love, but I’d love to see this aspect of the band show up again. When all is said and done it’s just great to see this group continue to grow and challenge themselves.

Key Tracks: Calamity Song, Down by the Water, This is Why We Fight

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