Review Summary: The Decemberists' beautiful middle ground; a superb fusion of folk and prog that stands as one of the decade's finest indie albums.
After Castaways and Cut-Outs, Her Majesty, and Picaresque, The Decemberists had carved themselves a niche in the indie world for their baroque costumes and sea-life themed songs. Instead of being recognized as a talented and deep band capable of writing many different types of songs, they had become a somewhat tired novelty. By 2006, the band needed something big, something different, that would catch people's attention and break them through; giving them a more mainstream sound but not bastardizing the qualities of their past music that had gotten them fans in the first place. The Crane Wife did exactly that.
The sea-shanties are there, but they're subtler than before. The clever lyrics using words like "blithely" and "parapet" are there, but they're balanced out and not as pretentious-sounding. The album has every positive thing about the band's previous works, but adds ambition and a new aspect of their sound that prevents this from being an extension of the past three efforts.
This album is mixed into two different halves that blend to eachother alarmingly well. The first is the most striking. The "Crane Wife" trilogy (parts 1, 2, and 3) and "The Island" are mission statements of a new polished sound. They're still recognizable as Decemberists songs, but the progressive sound sets them apart from anything that came before. Parts two and three of "The Crane Wife", and "Landlord's Daughter" from "The Island" are two of the best things this band has penned, the latter being a jaw-dropping fusion of folk and prog that stands as one of the finest songs of the decade. "You'll Not Feel the Drowning", the final part of "The Island" also sets to prove that the new sound doesn't stop Colin Meloy from being able to write quiet, dark shanties and settles the album down after the explosion of the first two tracks. "When the War Came" and "The Crane Wife 1" are the two weakest songs on the album, but even they are listenable and fit into the album perfectly.
The album is filled with impressive prog songs, but it also sees them perfect the sound of their first three efforts. Making up half of the album, the folk songs are clean, catchy, clever, and more instrumentally impressive than their previous ones. Of them, "Summersong", "Sons and Daughters", and "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Again)" highlight most what made people love The Decemberists in the first place. The lyrics are different than the heightened metaphors of Castaways and the dark stories of Picaresque, and so don't feel recycled or boring.
This album is indisputably The Decemberists' masterpiece, and the jaw-dropping fusion of prog and folk makes this one of the finest indie albums of the decade.
Pros:
Blends Folk and Prog excellently
Some amazing indie songs
Both aspects of the music are extremely well-balanced
Cons:
Some of the prog-focused songs over-stay their welcome a bit.
"When the War Came" and "The Crane Wife Pt. 1"
Must Download:
"The Island"
"Summersong"
"The Crane Wife 3"
"Sons and Daughters"
