Album Review: The Decemberists The King Is Dead

The Decemberists. Photo / Supplied

Rating: 3/5
Verdict: Portland folkies' sixth album is solid, but lacks true grit

Compared to the high-falutin' rock opera of 2009's The Hazards of Love - which was kind of like the sound of a band who had read too many books and wanted to share their wisdom with you - The Decemberists sixth album is a doddle. While there are still elements of librarian rock about The King Is Dead, it is a refined and relatively simple set of 10 songs with an accessible Americana pop mood to it.

Opener Don't Carry It All has an almost slugging, thigh-slapping stomp to it, before Calamity Song takes off on a jaunty and driving trip like REM - and not only does band leader Colin Meloy often sound a deadringer for Michael Stipe but Peter Buck chimes in on 12-string electric guitar.

It's rousing stuff at times, especially when Meloy and guest singer and fellow folkie Gillian Welch's harmonies cut through and touch your heart, and on last track Dear Avery their voices are complemented by the mesmerising shimmer of pedal steel guitar.

And there are many other magical lyrical moments, from the beautiful ("My sweetheart, I am in your sway") to the dark ("Come the reek of bones ... come hell"), and they are delivered in Meloy's effortless storytelling style.

So it's another solid, rather than jaw-dropping, outing from the Portland band, yet tracks like first single Down By the Water and the catchy eeriness of This Is Why We Fight are both ripe for cross-over recognition.

-TimeOut