decemberists free download torrent Release Music Video on BitTorrent. The indie rock band “The Decemberists” has more faith in BitTorrent than MTV. The band from Portland, Oregon want their video to be available to a wide public, and BitTorrent is the easiest way to do so. For the most part, MTV and VH1 won’t touch video unless bands have sold a huge number of records, it’s impossible to get rotation.” Publishing a video on BitTorrent, is cheap, easy and efficient. The hardcore fans helped to seed the torrent and within a couple of days the torrent was downloaded more that 2000 times. Slim Moon, founder of Kill Rock Stars, the Decemberists’ responds: “No matter where you stand on issues of copyright, a network like BitTorrent is really for exactly this kind of thing When you have content that you want to freely distribute, it seems like … the most logical way to distribute.” The video for “Sixteen Military Wives” was shot for less than $6,000 at a high school in Portland, Oregon, and features members of the band participating in a Model United Nations, a simulation popular in high schools to teach students about problem-solving and international relations. In the video, Decemberists singer represents the United States and boldly declares war on Luxembourg, a not-so-subtle jab at the Bush administration’s decision to go to war. By the way, their “” probably looks familiar to most people in the BitTorrent community. The Decemberists Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best. The Decemberists rode the wave of early 21st century Indie to success, attracting attention with their predilection for historic epics and olde English folk music. They hail from Portland, Oregon, but the band was named for the Decembrist Revolution in 19th century Imperial Russia. The band’s invented back story describes how they met in a Turkish bathhouse and how they only travel by dirigible balloon. Front-man Colin Meloy is the band’s leader, writing their material, often in a storytelling mode that recalls historical events and uses long words. Meloy is an anglophile, whose favourite music includes The Smiths, Shirley Collins, and The Waterboys. The band’s often features acoustic instruments like bouzouki and , and they’ve dabbled in genres like and Americana. The Decemberists have attracted ridicule for their grandiose concepts, but I’ve always enjoyed them – although as a bearded, thirty-something history graduate, I’m essentially their target demographic. Here are their eight studio albums to date, ranked from worst to best. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. #8, 2015 What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World repeats the stripped down sound of The King is Dead . The band’s grand concepts are tucked away, replaced by more personal songs from Meloy. But at 57 minutes of unambitious material, What a Terrible World… outstays its welcome, despite highlights like ‘Calvary Captain’ and ‘Philomena’. What a terrible world, what a beautiful world 12/17/12. I’ll Be Your Girl. #7, 2018 Most bands’ output diminishes in productivity and focus as its members grow older and start families. This is particularly evident for The Decemberists. As well as family responsibilities, Meloy’s enjoying a parallel career as a children’s writer. I’ll Be Your Girl is The Decemberists least coherent album, trying different styles with little focus. The band adding 1980s synths to their sonic palette, but the best song is the folk epic ‘Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes’. Come down, my little darling, oh farther come in For deeper the water, the sweeter the sin Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes. Her Majesty The Decemberists. #6, 2003 The Decemberists’ second album captures them at their most theatrical, with songs like ‘I Was Meant For The Stage’. But Her Majesty The Decemberists often feels too light on musical ideas, overwhelmed by the group’s mid 19th century whimsy. All a-drifting, he’s a nogood boyo Sent a-fishing for a whalebone corset frame (His only catch all day) Billy Liar. . #5, 2009 The Decemberists had previously flirted with multi-part suites and progressive rock, but the entirety of The Hazards of Lov e is given over to an hour long . Guest vocalists like ’s and of sing the roles of characters along with Meloy, including the Forest Queen and a shape-shifter. I enjoy the folk and progressive rock palette of this record – it’s sometimes reminiscent of Jethro Tull – but it suffers from the standard weaknesses of rock operas, like repeated melodic ideas. And painting rings around your eyes these peppered holes so filled with crying A whisper weighed upon the tattered down where you and I were lying The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned) Picaresque. #4, 2005 The exaggerated Victorian theatricality of Her Majesty the Decemberists was an evolutionary dead end, and the group reinvigorated themselves with the poppier Picaresque . There are great pop tunes like the brassy ’16 Military Wives’ and the acoustic ‘The Engine Driver’, although Meloy’s lyrics are too grandiloquent for mainstream radio. But the album suffers from the long and salty narrative of ‘The Mariner’s Revenge Song’; a fun story that doesn’t offer enough musically to hold up for multiple listens. Fifteen celebrity minds Leading their fifteen sordid, wretched, checkered lives Will they find the solution in time Using their fifteen crispy moderate liberal minds 16 Military Wives. Castaways and Cutouts. #3, 2002 Meloy had already made an album with Tarkio, and the group had already released the EP 5 Songs , so it’s not surprising that The Decemberists started strongly. Their debut album is assured, with their historical shtick and prominent acoustic instrumentation already in place. Opener ‘Leslie Anne Levine’ stakes out their career territory beautifully – a dark tale with a pretty acoustic arrangement. My name is Leslie Anne Levine My mother birthed me down a dry ravine My mother birthed me far too soon Born at nine and dead at noon Leslie Anne Levine. . #2, 2006 The Crane Wife marks the end of The Decemberists’ initial burst of creativity, their fourth album in just over four years. It’s divided between long, prog-rock flavoured songs like ‘The Island’, and succinct, accessible pieces like ‘Summersong’ and ‘Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)’. With this balance, it’s probably the most representative of the group’s oeuvre; it’s a great place to start with their music. Its contents watched by Sycorax And Patagon in parallax The Island. The King is Dead. #1, 2011 The Decemberists streamlined for the new decade, stripping back their material to short, succinct songs, and showcasing a sound that leaned more heavily on Americana than on British influences. The group, aided by collaborators like , Gillian Welch, and Dave Rawlings, serve up a terrific set of songs like the rollicking ‘Rox in the Box’ and the pastoral prettiness of ‘January Hymn’. Hail the winter days after dark Wandering the gray memorial park A fleeting beating of hearts January Hymn. The definitive ranking of The Decemberists’ discography. I love The Decemberists. So much. It’s been four years since their last studio album and I could not be more excited for the new album to release on Tuesday. As such, I re-listened to all of their studio releases to reacquaint myself with the albums and develop my ranking of least to most favorite. There are definitely worse things I could do to my ears 6. Castaways and Cutouts. The Decemberists’ first studio album, it’s not as strong as their other releases. There are a few standout tracks – A Cautionary Song is a three- minute long “yo mama” joke that I enjoy very, very much – but the rest aren’t anything to brag about. Granted, the “worst” Decemberists album is still far above a lot of other musical choices. 5. Her Majesty the Decemberists. I promise my rankings aren’t just the order of the discography. One of my favorite Decemberists songs ever – Red Right Ankle – is featured on the album. The songs are a little catchier and the album flows better, not dragging as much as the previous one. On Her Majesty the Decemberists, the band really develops and establishes the sound that flows through the next three releases. 4. The King is Dead. A lot of people have gripes with this album. It’s not my favorite album by the band but it’s definitely not my least favorite. It has a different sound than the others as it ventures into a more folk country vibe. It was a new experiment for the band but I think it works. And I have a lot of respect for a band that takes risks with their sound. 3. The Crane Wife. Admittedly, these last three albums were very difficult to rank. I tried listening to the attached EPs/bonus tracks to help decide and it still didn’t work. But this is what I landed on. The Crane Wife is beautiful and its out-of-order story tracks make this a dedicated listening experience. This one tends to be a favorite of die-hard Decemberists fans and it is certainly a favorite of mine, but it’s just not quite there for me. It doesn’t hold my attention quite as deeply as the next two. Also, I included any bonus tracks in my judgment of these albums, and while After the Bombs and Culling of the Fold are so good they deserve to be on the album proper, The Perfect Crime #1 is a boring 15 minutes compared to the rest of the tracks. 2. The Hazards of Love. This was my first introduction to the band (I know, I’m late to the game) and it remains a favorite. It’s a concept album and an excellent one at that. I get lost in its story every time I listen to it. Colin Meloy took the concept of his interweaving stories from The Crane Wife and made an album-long rock opera. There aren’t a lot of “singles” as a result but an album is ultimately an experience. The Hazards of Love provides an excellent experience. 1. Picaresque. In 2009, I bought pizza for a small party at a friend’s house. One of my friends didn’t have cash on hand to pay me back but promised he would shortly. The next time I saw him, he handed me a used CD copy of this album as payment. I think I owe him change. Picaresque is packed with amazing stand alone tracks that flow well together into one cohesive album. It doesn’t take as much dedication as other Decemberists albums but still contains the unique sound the band is so well-known for. And is there anything better than The Mariner’s Revenge Song? I am eager to see what What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World has to offer to the band’s discography. Based on their existing repertoire, I have high expectations. The Decemberists. It was with truly heavy hearts that we announced the cancellation of this summer’s tour. We really had hoped that we’d be able to play in front of you sweaty, singing thousands when we postponed the dates initially — and while there is every reason to believe that this pandemic may soon be a strange […] Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. TOUR UPDATE. We were really hoping against hope to be able to bring this 20th/21st anniversary show on the road this summer. And while there’s every reason to be optimistic about the state of the pandemic and the possibility of live shows in the future, we don’t think it’s going to happen in July and August of […] THE DECEMBERISTS. The last two tracks are unique to this EP. "Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right". It starts out with keyboards and repeating chords and vocals. Some and percussion is added later. It stays at a midtempo. There is some nice slide guitar in the instrumental breaks. "Sunshine" has a retro sound, but again deals humorously with someone's butt. Again, it is a bright tune, mostly acoustic. The songs fit together well, but do very little to hold my interest. There is no semblance of prog here, and, as a matter of fact, not much folk either. Just bouncy pop songs with a mostly acoustic flavor. The best surprise is the slide guitar in the 3rd track. But, all in all, it's not really worth searching for. The 2 b-sides are really nothing special. This one is for the fans and collectors. Apart from that song, there are some other great songs, though none of them prog. "Cutting Stone" is a great song that starts with a dramatic, folk- y theme, which repeats and mixes in the synth-pop elements that are all over this album. I don't love it all the time, but here it works really well. "Severed" is very predominantly in the synth-pop genre, but it's led by a distorted guitar and the vocals are dark and muffled, both of which work really well with the political theme of the song. "Starwatcher", alongside "Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes", is definitely one the more purely folk songs on the record, which I enjoy a lot. "Everything is Awful" is a great indie rock tune that's based on a single repeating verse with a few bridges. It starts out with just an acoustic guitar and one vocal, and by the end of the song it has layered vocals and gets pretty heavy with the distorted guitar and just beating the hell out of the drums, before transitioning into a chorus-like vamp that ends the song; definitely my favourite song after "Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes". "Sucker's Prayer" is a great tune with a slow rock feel; great emotional energy and lyrics in this one. All and all, the album is okay, with a few highlight tunes, but most of it isn't anywhere close to prog. However, the few great songs and the one prog offering it does have is an improvement from their last two albums. In general, it's a little better than a 3/5, but it's a solid 3 from a prog perspective. Review by siLLy puPPy Collaborator PSIKE, JR/F/Canterbury & Eclectic Teams. One of the greatest assets of THE DECEMBERISTS is the fact that their music is so diverse. While mainly led by Meloy who is the lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter, there is also a heavy presence of keyboards by who employs ample uses of Hammond organ, accordion, rhodes and other synthesized effects. Also on the team is percussionist Ezra Holbrook, on upright bass and who adds additional guitar parts including the pedal steel and occasional theremin. All of the these unique instruments add interesting atmospheres and crossover genre styles that give THE DECEMBERISTS their own unique sound. The differences between songs is quite pronounced. While "Grace Cathedral Hill" is more of a sorrowful tale of lament that is a lush country ballad, "The Legionnaire's Lament" is an upbeat pop rock track that utilizes distorted ska guitar techniques, energetic accordion, bass and drum interaction and a extra catchy pop hook. CASTAWAYS AND CUTOUTS made an immediate impression and accumulated an instant fan base and the band found a unique niche that has been compared (unfairly) to Neutral Milk Hotel although as with any folk oriented bands, similarities can be heard. Although the debut is a much more stripped down affair from the second album on where the band would include more guest musicians adding a more extensive range of sounds, CASTAWAYS AND CUTOUTS focuses more on the strong songwriting and inventive genre fusion techniques led by Meloy. While not as popular as albums such as "The Crane Wife" or "The Hazards Of Love," the debut is a decent album in its own right with a stronger roots oriented feel to it. While i have to admit that Meloy's idiosyncratic vocal style that seems equidistant between country and folk with a little mopey indie rock thrown in for good measure, it ultimately has won me over and fits the mournful saddened feel of the album. The songs emphasize the newly released King is Dead , with some dabbling primarily from Picaresque and Crane Wife ; effective selections overall, though if you're looking for something as sensitive or artistic as you heard on Hazards of Love , you won't hear it. We All Raise Our Voices to the Air has a crowd-pleasing, festival feel, and is more concerned with creating a fun concert experience than it is with reveling in the antique and finely crafted sound that the band produces in the studio. Definitely check it out if you're interested in seeing a slightly heavier side of a legitimately good indie/folk band. Setlist: 3 - Instrumental Performances: 3 - Stage/Energy: 3 - Live Experience: 3. Review by Neu!mann Prog Reviewer. Predictably, this modest collection of leftovers from the same studio sessions appeared shortly afterward: in effect an EP of outtakes from an album of outtakes. If nothing else, the five songs here marked a full-circle retreat to the unremarkable Indie Rock of the "5 Songs" EP from 2001, in retrospect hardly a Decemberists classic but at least showing some of the youthful aspirations missing from the band's current efforts. After fifteen years of escalating success the group now sounds a bit jaded, content to rest on their wilting laurels. "Riverswim" is a pretty song, once again mining the same vein of faux-Americana exploited for "The King is Dead" a half-decade earlier. "Fits and Starts" presents another plagiarized R.E.M.-style rocker, one of many already dotting the Decemberist landscape. There's even a song titled "Stateside", by coincidence (or maybe not) a bookend reflection of the "5 Songs" ballad "Oceanside". Even the signature vocal tremolo of Meloy, so distinctive when he's singing about 'brickbats and Bowery toughs', is fast becoming a tiresome affectation. The Decemberists certainly deserve all the acclaim their music has earned them in the past. But with the eclecticism long gone, and with Meloy complacently treading very shallow water, it might be time to admit his band's best years are behind them. Review by Neu!mann Prog Reviewer. There's nothing wrong with that. When properly motivated, Colin Meloy can still write incredibly well-crafted pop songs ("Make You Better") and lovely acoustic ballads ("Lake Song", and is that a Mellotron I hear over the chorus?). But the material here sounds oddly disengaged, lacking even the lightweight thread of backwoods Americana that held the "King" album loosely together. "We had to change some", Meloy insists at the start of the album, in a narcissistic ditty transparently named "The Singer Addresses His Audience". The author denies any autobiographical bias, but I don't believe it: he's too smart not to realize the song plays like a slap in the face to longtime fans who treasured the band's originality. We get it, Colin: you've outgrown that trademark antique Victorian charm and tongue-in-cheek narrative whimsy. Change is good, but not when you're defending your weakest album to date (and still performing "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on stage). Ironically, "The Singer Addresses. " is by far the album's strongest track: a thrilling return to form, at least musically. Elsewhere the songs too often go in one ear and out the other, and thankfully too: "Easy Come, Easy Go", as Meloy sings in the (almost) catchy rocker of the same name. That old-thyme American folk sound from "The King is Dead" resurfaces in "Carolina Low" and "Better Not Wake the Baby" (what was that you said about needing to change, Colin. ) And the band hits rock bottom in the twin nadirs of "Cavalry Captain" and "Philomena", the former sounding not unlike the worst of '80s Phil Collins (but with pithier lyrics), and the latter a fluffy pop nonentity with atypically smarmy lyrics unworthy of the pen that wrote "The Crane Wife". Let's hope such a unique songwriter, who describes himself (in "Lake Song") as being at one time "seventeen and terminally fey", soon grows tired of career-building and reconnects with the buoyant spirit of his wayward youth. The opener "Infanta" is a huge, bombastic, and upbeat attention grabber with a Spanish flair. It's pretty good, and may be a prog fan's highlight of the album. However, it's hardly representative of what follows. "We Both Go Down Together" is a sing-songy tune with an abundance of Meloy vocals and counter melody. A good example of a song that has a few moments of appeal but doesn't quite work as intended. We're given songs that are playful and charming, melancholic and sorrowful, and even ambitious balladry like "Bagman's Gambit". This song is another good example of a mixed bag; the composition has numerous dynamic shifts and nuance, but doesn't have the emotional "umph" to resonate. "Mariner's Revenge Song" is better, thanks to its reliance on acoustics and occasional moments of intensity. Ironically, the excellent instrumental performances and nuanced vocals of later albums haven't quite developed yet, but the album retains a strong sense of presence and fun despite this. For me Picaresque is at its best at its most extreme: very ambitious and "forte," or very acoustic and sensitive. There is too much middling to make this more than a 3-star prog folk release. Those curious about the band should check out the much better albums that follow first, and temper expectations if working backwards. Songwriting: 3 - Instrumental Performances: 2 - Lyrics/Vocals: 2 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 3. In fact, the King is Dead is probably the best example of the band's "total package" to date. It's heavy parts are heavier; it's softer parts are more tender; the vocals sound more experienced; and the instrumental moments are very well executed. The band plays with a more electric sound then they have in the past, with fewer antique and acoustic instruments in the mix. Query's bass stands out as being more prevalent throughout, as does the vocals of Meloy, which come across as more mature and steadier. None of the songs cut as deeply or as powerfully as we heard in Hazards, but this is a different kind of album. It's a mix of mostly mid-tempo tunes that stand well alone or when taken in as a group. The songwriting and tone doesn't even tip-toe into "progressive" territory, but that doesn't make the King is Dead bad, just good but not essential. Recommended right behind the more artistic Crane Wife and Hazards of Love. Songwriting: 3 - Instrumental Performances: 3 - Lyrics/Vocals: 3 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 4. It's hard exactly to pinpoint what holds Her Majesty back. Maybe its the song writing, which lose depth and creativity as the album goes on. Maybe its Meloy's very exposed vocals, and comparatively uninspired vocals. We just aren't given that much to catch our interest, as song after song goes by in a folksy, twangy mish-mash of acoustic sounds. The whole album sounds sort of like B-sides, or unfinished works in need of a sharper production and edit for impact. Still, the bands's playing is good overall, giving us some interesting tones that emerge from an otherwise bland entry from the otherwise engaging band. One for the fans. Songwriting: 2 - Instrumental Performances: 3 - Lyrics/Vocals: 2 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 2.