The Decemberists: enjoy the Celtic feel

The Decemberists’ song “The Island: Come and See/The Landlord’s Daughter/You’ll Not Feel The Drowning” is my favorite off their new album “The Crane Wife.” The rhythm and percussion in the opening two minutes has the feel of a hypnotic, steady, inevitable march on the journey. Mid-way through the 12-minute track, the rhythm accelerates, becoming more like a light-hearted, fast-paced jig. The music continues to progress, with slightly darker chords mingling in,sobering the freedom of the dance, which then crescendo into a frantic clashing as the landlord’s daughter cries for mercy.

That’s some of the coolest song-writing I’ve seen in a while. Unfortunately, the third song in that medley doesn’t fit as well as the first two.

This album has a strong Celtic feel to it, and I was mystified to learn that the lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy was an American from Oregon. I’d’ve sworn he had an Irish accent. Unfortunately, his vibrato voice makes several of the songs grate a bit when he sustains notes repeatedly.

Overall, I liked the album. There are several strong songs, including the opening track, “The Crane Wife 3”, “The Perfect Crime No. 2”, and the two ending tracks. It took me a minute to warm up to the album, though. Stepping back from the individual songs, the album has a unified feel... almost to the point of everything sounding a little too much like everything else. Meloy’s lyrics are nearly incomprehensible due to whatever accent he has, which doesn’t help that impression.

That said, that unified feel is a good feel.

There were a few songs I just couldn’t get into, though, despite repeated listenings. “Yankee Bayonet” and “O Valencia!” are two, as well as “Shankill Butchers.” The biggest problem was the singer’s voice, unfortunately, because I liked some of the musical techniques the band uses throughout the album.

Many of the songs feel too long on this album, despite the fact that most are of “normal” song length. Some of the problem may be in the repetitive refrains, especially in “The Perfect Crime No. 2”, but it feels like The Decembrists don’t have quite enough to say to fill all five-ish minutes of each song. Strangely, the longest songs, “The Island: Come and See/The Landlord’s Daughter/You’ll Not Feel The Drowning” and “The Crane Wife 1 & 2”, feel the best written in terms of length.

So I skip once I get near the end of the song. Not a big deal.

The album’s still worth being picked up for those looking for rock with a Celtic feel. I can’t compare it to other Decemberists’ albums, but it’s good in and of itself.