Album Review: The Decemberists Sings To The End In I’ll Be Your Girl
Welp, the whole world has gone to hell, but that does not mean you cannot act like its hasn’t! This seems to be central in how current socio-politics embrace the petrifying that global catastrophe is looming. In The Decemberists’ new album, I’ll Be Your Girl, they have created “happy music” for those who keep on living despite feeling like the world is headed for an apocalypse.
There is something silly, poignant, powerful, and fabled about I’ll Be Your Girl. The Decemberists are a group known for their lyricism, and their ability to simplify human complexity. How we can be incredibly wise and incredibly stupid, all at once, feeds The Decemberists notion of romanticism, mysticism, fanaticism, and pretty much any “ism” that is used to conglomerate human behavior. Tracks like “Everything Is Awful”, “We All Die Young”, and “Your Ghost” are the oddest sad songs to leave you cheering and feeling like, maybe, you could survive an “end of the world scenario” (but you probably will not!).
The Decemberists – Severed
The Decemberists toss their guitar melodies like paint balls hitting a wall; there is a fun, mischievousness to this album that ends in colorfulness. For however dark they get, you both laugh and wonder over how “okay” you should feel over being un-okay. Now, I am not saying crawl up into fetal position and cry over our world’s, current self-destruction, but in hearing their songs stomp, prance, and leap in melodic bliss, you feel challenged. I cannot ignore or celebrate the wrongs of this world, but I have to live through them while helping heal them. Oddly enough, this is not I’ll Be Your Girl’s message, but it is a resulting impact.
The Decemberists – Once In My Life (Audio)
“Once In My Life”, “Severed”, and “Sucker’s Prayer” journey through the 70’s, 80’, and 90’s in synth-waved /acoustic influence to show every music generation also had tumultuous times to inspire through and respond to. As you journey through the folksier soundscapes of “Tripping Along” and “Starwatcher”, Colin Meloy’s voice becomes your timeless, consistent anchor. You can put him in any emotion, era, or back-drop, and his charming vocals will help you through even the worst of times. Maybe, that is why he sounds so cheery even in the down-trodden; joy is inherent to his vocality, and the key to his reaction to sadder days. For More Information on The Decemberists And To Buy I’ll Be Your Girl On March 16 Click Here.
