The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love [2009]

Website
MySpace
Last.fm

The Decemberists is an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards), Nate Query (bass guitar, string bass), and John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica). The band's debut EP, 5 Songs, was self-released in 2001. Their fourth full-length album, The Crane Wife, was released on October 3, 2006 by Capitol Records, and is the band's first appearance on a major label.

The band's songs range from upbeat pop to instrumentally lush ballads, and often employ instruments like the accordion, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer organ, and upright bass. In its lyrics, the band eschews the angst and introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach, as evidenced in songs such as "My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist" from the 5 Songs EP and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on Picaresque. The band's songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("The Sporting Life") to epic ("The Tain") to dark ("Odalisque"), and often invoke historical events and themes from around the world. Early in their career, The Decemberists' musical and lyrical aesthetics frequently prompted critics to compare them to Neutral Milk Hotel.