THE KING IS FINALLY DEAD (for free streaming on the npr website)

I circled January 18th on my calendar a while ago, when I first found out it was the release date of the newest Decemberists album, "The King Is Dead". I've been awaiting the album like crazy -- I even bought this fancy preorder bundle. A couple days ago, 11 days before the official release date, I found out that you can listen to the whole album right now, for free, as it's streaming  on the NPR music site. My mind sufficiently blown, I listened to it right away.

I should start with a little disclaimer: this "review" is going to sound a lot harsher than I mean. There are so many good things about this album, but I do have trouble expressing that because I feel like it's a given with the Decemberists. And also keep in mind that my opinion on the album is compared to my monstrously high expectations based on the practically unequalable level that the band has set to this point. I guess that kind of spoiled what I think of it... but please keep reading...

I could tell right away this album was going to be different. I noticed that there weren't any really long songs, and that was a negative, because Colin Meloy is great at writing grand, dark stories contained in one song, and there weren't going to be any of those like there were on the early albums. This one is a little more in the vein of "The Hazards of Love". It's not one story like that, but it has a lot of lyrical themes that go throughout the album. Although after one listen and not too much online discourse yet I haven't really been able to dissect everything that's going on, it seems to be about the seasons and the natural world. The album has strong country influences, and I'm glad to hear the band trying to do something different sonically.

My favorite song, after listening once, is "Rox in the Box". While the spelling of the title is reminiscent of annoying teenage girls, this is the song on the album that tries hardest to tell a story. It's about miners particularly, but it really talks about the oppression of the working class. It has great arrangement and a fun melody (another Decemberists song with dark lyrics combined with a happy tune), and great Colin Meloy wordplay.

I guess I kept that a little more positive than I expected to. That's good. It's still a great album and you should all get it. This one might even be a good entry point for people not familiar with the Decemberists, as it's not as deep and dark as albums like "Picaresque" and "The Hazards of Love". But, as I try to avoid the dreaded d-word (d*s*p*o*n*m*n*), it really didn't live up to my expectations or capture what I love about the Decemberists.

Note that this is written after listening to the album once, because I really wanted to preserve my first impression. I probably will be writing more about this album, especially after I get the CD and am able to listen to it a lot more.