Review Summary: :D
Exactly what do you get when all effort you put into an album comes out even better than you expect it to? Maybe The Decemberists had no clue exactly what kind of legacy they were crafting when they were putting this together. Right about the time of this release, indie was reaching out to many societies all across the country. This album is composed of out-takes from the bands sixth studio album "The King is Dead". The idea of these being released within a few months of each other compiles the line "The King is dead. Long live the King." This creativity is equally exposed in the tracks chosen for this EP.
Indie is a genre of simplicity and occasional excitement. But most of the time, indie is all about the revelation of various concepts formed together in a masterpiece that really isn’t about the music so much as it is the lyrics. Though lyrics are really the shining point for most indie bands, some albums manage to squeeze the slightest amount of interesting instrument lines, and even at that, some albums manage to revolutionize their subject. "Long Live the King" is just a small record out there in the grand arena of indie folk albums, and as obscure as it is, it still shines a bright light through a dark cave of misconceptions and falsehoods. "Long Live the King" is a genuinely exposed album with many simple acoustics and minor drum rolls that do well in compiling fantastic hooks for the album.
Simplicity is the album's greatest ally when all is said and done. Aside from the album's superiority in just the lyrics, comes a great source of acoustic artisanship. Even though there are only six excerpts from the overall majestic album "The King is Dead", this small EP fills up on astonishing instruments and vocals. The first track "E. Watson" is a powerful song containing an excellent acoustic intro, and maintaining that basic calming guitar mood while lead vocalist Colin Meloy goes into a very melodic stage of vocals everlasting throughout the song. "Foregone" is another great example of instruments, with more drumming in this track, and more bass action, it gives off a kind of country folk feeling to it. The vocals have absolutely no flaw in them for this song. As well as acoustic guitar in this, we also get some rhythm guitar action throughout with the instrumental melodies. "Foregone" is one of best tracks in this album to say the least of its excellence. The next track "Burying Davy" has an eerie acoustic intro that last for the chorus as well as persist through the vocals. "Burying Davy" is without a doubt the best track on the album, even though all the tracks excel past just calling them "cool", and "awesome".
The rest of the tracks in this EP exemplify a more simplistic style for just the vocals, and hereon it wouldn’t be all about the instruments. A seemingly a capella version is persistent throughout the tracks, and the heaviness in "Burying Davy" has all but disappeared in "I4U & U4ME" and "Row Jimmy". The electric guitars are tuned down in volume until the last track "Sonnet" which would wrap up this short feature better than any other track could have. "Sonnet" is more or less an acoustic solo in the end, and vocals really get the best chance to shine here. Unfortunately, the song does tend to get rather old after a while, while others remain at the core at your heart for a while. "Sonnet" does however, in its lasting performance stages, genuinely express a different instrumental side to this album that wasn’t seen in previous tracks. Horns eventually come along towards the middle of the track with the bass grooving in the background modestly while the rhythm guitar provides an excellent backdrop for the remainder of this track. Finally, the grand orchestral melody presented in the final stages of "Sonnet" will slowly fade out into complete and utter silence.
Long Live the King is easily the best EP album I’ve ever heard from any genre. On top of the fact that indie has always managed throughout the course of its existence to maintain a strong, firm grip on its styles, "Long Live the King" only makes the general outlook better by any means. There is absolutely no doubt that anyone who is willing to except a country-like musical style with aspects of folk thrown into it, along with superb vocals will dislike this piece. This put-together of a previous concept album has turned over a new leaf in the indie rock society, and ultimately shaped the bands outro as an ultimatum.
