The Lovely Music of the Decemberists

Wednesday, March 30 2005

I saw the Decemberists last night at the Fox Theatre in Boulder. Wonderful, wonderful band. I think one of the reasons I like these guys so much is that there's this real authenticity to them. I can't exactly decide what it is that they do that portrays this, but it's certainly an asset. And the instrumentation that they bring with them is just incredible in its variety. Actually, I think that at least part of the appeal is that they have so many instruments which they use in ways ranging from subtle to striking but it's always a vital and well thought out addition. It's just so neat to see someone capably take on a couple of different instruments in the course of one song and watch them inject something significant to the music with each one.

Their label Kill Rock Stars has a directory of mp3s of theirs including a tune from their current album (Picaresque - came out last Tuesday) in addition to a song from each of their older albums. All very good.