free download from the decemberists’ upcoming album

the decemberists are offering a free download of the song, “the rake’s song” in honor of their upcoming album the hazards of love. the new album is set to release on march 24th of this year.

i have been listening to colin meloy’s solo album, colin meloy sings live! a lot lately, so i am very excited about the new album, as you should be too.

regarding the new album, the hazards of love, the decemberists had this to say:

The album is a 17-song suite that demands to be listened to from start to finish and reveals more with each subsequent play. It is rooted in ancient language and imagery, yet entirely modern and accessible.

The album began when Meloy – long fascinated by the British folk revival of the 1960s – found a copy of revered vocalist Anne Briggs’s 1966 EP, titled The Hazards of Love. Since there was no actual song with the album’s title, he set out to write one, but was soon immersed in something much larger.

The Hazards Of Love tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came “to be living so easy and free” in the aforementioned “The Rake’s Song.” Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden deliver the lead vocals for the female characters, while My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Robyn Hitchcock and the Spinanes’ Rebecca Gates appear in supporting roles. The range of sounds reflects the characters’ arcs, from the accordion’s singsong lilt in “Isn’t it a Lovely Night?” to the heavy metal thunder of “The Queen’s Rebuke/The Crossing.”

“There’s an odd bond between the music of the British folk revival and classic metal,” says Meloy. “A natural connection between, like, Fairport Convention and Black Sabbath – of course, Sandy Denny from Fairport even sang with Led Zeppelin on ‘The Battle of Evermore.’ I think there’s a shared sense of narrative and ambience, of moving beyond the first person in your writing. And I thought it would be interesting to mess around with that.”

The Decemberists will tour this spring, playing The Hazards Of Love straight through for the show’s first half and older material for the remainder. Tour dates will be announced shortly.

the decemberists’ myspace

quote of the day #4

“i’d like to be around your campfire… not in that sense, but i bet he would throw a good campfire, you’d throw a mean campfire.”

-colin meloy “evoking a campfire singalong” from colin meloy sings live

in case you didn’t know, colin is the singer/song witer/guitarist/bouzouki player/percussionist of the decemberists. i was listening to this album and this track made me laugh. if you like the decemberists or decemberists-like music and don’t have this album, you need it. it’s beautiful. the way colin performs the songs and the comments in between songs are very funny as well. this album strikes me as a very folksy nirvana unplugged in new york.

new releases for 10/14 the decemberists

the decemberists- always the bridesmaid: vol. 1, a single series

“valerie plame” one of the two songs from the album

the decemberists have finished tracking their upcoming album hazards of love. no date yet, more later. enjoy always the bridesmaid for now.

update 1/3/09: hazards of love will be released march 28th. more from billboard.

the decemberists’ myspace