via//chicago

np: "Annan Water" - The Decemberists

I have to say, as talented as Colin Meloy and his merry band of literate indie rockers may be, I was afraid that the latest opus from The Decemberists was bound to be a bit of a slog and a chore to get through. A 17-song concept suite with Meloy and guest vocalists playing the parts of different characters? Come on, even for these guys this sounded like a bit of a stretch. I'm happy to report, after having spent a little time with The Hazards of Love, that my fears were completely unfounded. This thing is good - really, really good. The whole thing holds together very well as a storytelling narrative, more so than many other attempts at this sort of thing, and more importantly - the songs are really pretty good. There is a lot of what you might expect from the band at this point, namely the ornate instrumentation and sing-songy melodies, but there are moments when the bands get pretty dark and heavy. In fact, I'd go as far as saying I feel a bit of metal influence here at some points. Special recognition should definitely go out to the guest vocalists (Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond and Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond), who keep things lively and lovely. A stunning piece of work that may just wind up representing the band at their creative peak.