|
| |
The Decemberists
The Crane Wife
(Capitol)
The Music Box's #10 album of 2006
First Appeared in The Music Box, December 2006, Volume 13, #12
Written by John Metzger
There’s no denying that many great bands have fallen victim to the
pretentious excesses of progressive rock, though that’s not to say that, over
the years, the ego-driven sub-genre also hasn’t produced some tremendously solid
albums. Similarly, indie acts making the jump to a major label typically wind up
diluting their core sound to the point where they no longer matter. On its
fourth, full-length endeavor The Crane Wife, The Decemberists manages to
sidestep both issues as it giddily plunges head first into the vortex, avoids
all of the obstacles in its path, and comes up grinning.
Since its debut Castaways and Cutouts, The Decemberists slowly but
surely has been refining its style, though its literate lyrics typically have
outstripped its accompanying music. On The Crane Wife, however, the
arrangements that the ensemble has concocted play a major role in relaying the
stories that are told, and as a result, the outing is, both musically and
lyrically, The Decemberists’ most accomplished and ambitious effort to date.
Within the maelstrom of the three-part song cycle The Island, for
example, swirling organ runs collide with pastoral folk as the band slams the
dark textures of Pink Floyd into the British art-rock of Jethro Tull in order to
conjure a thrilling and effective backdrop for its tale of rape and murder.
Elsewhere, the ominous, angst-filled march of the protest anthem When the War
Came is drawn directly from Radiohead’s OK Computer; the jangly Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) finds guest vocalist Laura Veirs
playing the role of Liz Phair to mastermind Colin Meloy’s Michael Stipe; The
Perfect Crime #2 is shaded with elements of the Talking Heads’ edgy R&B; and
O Valencia! is bathed in the theatrical pathos of Morrissey’s work.
As for The Crane Wife’s title tune, it is presented in a strange and
convoluted fashion. With its Psychedelic Furs-imbued modern rock ambience, the
gloomy third and final chapter of the revived Japanese folk tale opens the set,
while the romantic thoughts of its first and second parts, which mix gentle
beauty with grand majesty, are tackled toward the end of the collection. The
song’s unconventional sequencing, combined with the recurring images of war that
drift throughout the endeavor, successfully grants The Crane Wife the air
of a larger conceptual work. Fueled by sparks of brilliance, they also elevate
its lesser tracks and sufficiently bind The Decemberists’ bloodstained period
pieces together. Whether the group can sustain its rapid evolution without
succumbing either to arrogance or to commercial considerations remains to be
seen. For now, at least, The Decemberists can take stock in knowing not only
that it has moved forward without losing touch with its past, but also that it
has created a boldly transfixing effort that ought to please fans of both
classic and indie rock. 
The Crane Wife is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
For UK orders, please
Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box
|
