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Album Details
- Artist: The Decemberists
- Album: The Hazards Of Love
- Label: Capitol
- Year of Release: 2009
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: kev_stev on 2009-02-22
RecommendThe Decemberists are one of those bands I really enjoy but never hype up, especially this year, with new albums from Animal Collective and Cursive taking up much of my listening time. With that said, I can't put the new album by these guys down. The Hazards of Love infuses British folk influences with thunderous guitar riffs, as the band's dark, melodic motifs and antiquated language lyrical concepts combine to form their most cohesive album to date.
First impressions will show that the most impressive aspect of Hazards is the way it flows; it is no surprise that the band will play it full through on their upcoming tour (which screams My Chemical Romance, I know, but it's really fitting here, and a pretty cool idea in general). Each song blends into the next, which allows its narrative pace to flow smoothly, sometimes in a style reminiscent of Pink Floyd's The Wall, like at the end of "Hazards Of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Wont Wrestle the Thistles Undone)," where a man's yelp melts into the power chords of "A Bower Scene." There are crafty tricks throughout the album that build its cohesion, fitting perfectly into the old-fashioned feel that the band and its fans are so enamored with.
There are also more dual vocals between lead singer Colin Meloy and female "characters," as Meloy would probably like them to be called. The vocals often play like soliloquies in a Shakespearean play, and are some of the album's most dramatic moments. And though the songs aren't as long (the approximate hour of this 17 song album runs through relatively quickly), they are just as epic as on The Crane Wife. "The Wanting Comes In Waves / Repaid" begins with creeping piano keys (which sounds like the perfect soundtrack for the next Resident Evil game) only to build into a swooping chorus of "woo"s, reminiscent of the dramatic outbursts of Arcade Fire. After the chorus collapses here, the song could very well have ended, yet a gritty guitar riff winds into the quivering vocals of Sarah Worden, who rejuvenates the song's intensity. The song plays out as a war or words, as energetic as it is spooky, and marks the album's peak as Meloy and Worden's vocals confront each other.
Though the album is much darker than its predecessor-and no, there aren't any melodies as grand as those played on "Summersong"-the album is equally impressive and is another landmark for the band, bridging their odd blend of alt-folk with powerhouse rock-n-roll guitars. This is another essential for '09, and a much needed contrast to the electronic and psychedelic-heavy music that'll be on everyone's Best Of lists by year's end.
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on 2011-06-11 CharlesMartel Said:
The Decemberists' collective persona is one of a walking anachronism. This is deliberate but can be unsettling to those who encounter the band for the first time. Photos of the band members depict them in clothes which went out of fashion in the nineteenth century and there can be few bands who purposely and frequently sing "thou wilt" during songs and do so with a straight face. So it should come as no surprise that the band's fifth album, "The Hazards of Love" should stick to a historical theme of sorts.
But this is not to say that the Decemberists are settling into a rut for "The Hazards of Love" is something which you might not have expected. With their 2006 release, "The Crane Wife", the band ran the same theme, the Japanese folk tale of the title, through many of the songs on the album. This time they have gone a step further. "The Hazards of Love" is not only a concept album, it is a genuine rock opera. At this point, those who know me might expect me to be gagging; more so when you discover that the whole album is based on a single track from an obscure 1966 EP (memories of Yes's double album of pompous wankery based on a lengthy footnote on page 64 spring instantly to mind). Thankfully, the Decemberists have managed to avoid that trap.
As a band which is known for its historical associations to its music, it should come as no surprise that the story unfolds in the woods of old England and, as with the crane in the previous album, features an anthropomorphic creature, this time a fawn. There are seventeen tracks on the album and all of them revolve around a musical libretto with a handful of distinct themes. As a result, few of the tracks are totally self-contained - " The Rake's Song" being one which is. Indeed, there is scarcely a break between any of the songs which all run into each other and could, if you did not know, all be assumed to being no more than discrete movements in a single track.
SPOILER ALERT
As with any opera, the album tells a story which revolves around identifiable characters. Lead vocalist Colin Meloy assumes the role of William, the shape-shifting, forest-dwelling fawn who is in love with Margaret, whose part is played by Becky Stark of the band Lavender Diamond. A third character, the Queen, who is also William's mother, is sung by Shara Worden of the band My Brightest Diamond.
After the brief and perhaps pointless " Prelude" we are quickly introduced to these two main characters within the first two tracks with Margaret discovering a wounded fawn in the wood and trying to help it in its pain, not knowing that it is William. For those familiar with the Decemberists this third track, " A Bower Scene ", hearing those power chords may come as something of a surprise.
Ms Stark then lends her distinct voice to " Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga) ", a track which combines a blues riff, a steady dance beat with those elegant voicals. With the title track divided into four segments, each with the same libretto running through, the second part, subtitled " Wager All" takes us on a journey to who knows where. Passing quickly over the brief interlude (no doubt the point where the opera-goers go and get their ice creams or gin and tonics according to their wont), William and a now pregnant Margaret meet in the forest in "Isn't It a Lovely Night" . But problems loom on the horizon.
The Queen now makes her entrance and she is not a happy monarch. " The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" is a double song, intertwined as William pleads with his mother, the Queen, not to interfere. After another interlude (a toilet break for our opera goers perhaps?) "The Rake's Song" forms a digression in the person of the gruesome infanticide who disposes of his own children to enable him to revert to his previous life of carefree amorous abandon. And one of his aims is Maragaret, whom he captures and abducts in the next track, "The Abduction of Margaret " which, like the next track, revisits the libretto of earlier tracks, in this case the power chords, while " The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing " again links the persona of the Queen to the riff of "Repaid" .
In the next two tracks, William journeys to rescue Margaret from the Rake, and is aided in this by the Rake's murdered children, sung by a children's choir, in the third instalment of the title track. The brief reunion of William and Margaret is curtailed by the fourth and final segment of the title track in which the two lovers are finally united in death, drowned.
With "The Hazards of Love" the Decemberists have pushed the boundaries of what they can do once again. Not only have they taken on the rock opera, which has proven to be a step too far for many bands, they have also managed to bring in a variety of different musical style from hard rock power chords, seventies riffs through to sixties psychedelica without losing their distinctiveness. The album sees the band continue to grow and one can only await, with growing anticipation, where the bands musical journey will take them next.
Rating: 8/10
on 2009-06-11 mountaloha Said:
Does anyone else get kind of a Black Mountain feel when listening to this album? The track "Won't Want For Love" sounds a lot like Black Mountain.
Rating: 8/10
on 2009-05-28 mountaloha Said:
This is my first Decemberists album and I must admit I'm a big fan. The female vocalists makes this album stand out in a big way.
Rating: 8/10
on 2009-04-08 SolitaryMan Said:
Is it just me, or does this album feel a bit like recent Coheed works in it's conceptual elements, and reoccurring musical themes? Anyway, this is an awesome album, has a bit of a classic rock edge to it at times, and more straight-ahead songwriting "oomph" than anything they've done before. I love the spaced-out riff that shows up in "A Bower Scene" and "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing". This was supposed to be a stage show, eh? I can totally see it, and I hope they go through with those plans someday. This album is full of imagery-through-sound and it would make for quite an epic story with actors on stage. Might end up on my year-end list, but it's too early to tell...
Rating: 8/10
on 2009-03-06 dscanland Said:
Oh my god. Hazards Of Love does NOTHING for me! I can not get into The Decemberists at all. Sorry, I've tried with every release. Maybe if they spent less time with the concept albums and just wrote some catchy songs I might be in.
Rating: 5/10
on 2009-02-23 hstisgod Said:
Tried to put Hazards of Love 1 on my recent podcast, but couldnt get it in the right format. Fantastic new stuff that I've heard so far
Not Rated
on 2009-02-22 SolitaryMan Said:
Very much looking forward to this one, more so now that I read this sweet review. Good job, kev. I'll post my thoughts once I acquire the album. This band hasn't disappointed me yet...
Rating: 8/10
on 2009-02-19 kev_stev Said:
really fucking good. 2 months into february and i already love 3 albums! this is unbelievable
Not Rated
