these fellas are good

This band is so good. I can't even stand it. I listened to Her Majesty, The Crane Wife, The Hazards Of Love, The King Is Dead and Picaresque all the way through, back to back yesterday. Just so consistently excellent.

Fire away... but, frankly... I like 'em more than Radiohead. There, I said it.

That's perfectly understandable.

Thank you, friend. I knew you'd understand.

These guys are just so damn likeable.

yah i love these guys. i hate radiohead.

I like the Decemberists a lot but... starting with "The Crane Wife", I've found them kind of samey. "The King is Dead" had a few really good tracks (I love both "Hymns", "Calamity Song" and "Down By The Water") but I feel like I know what's going to happen in every song. They seem to be going to the same melodic places over and over again. And "This is Why We Fight" is "Infanta"-level annoying.

I'd like to hear "Long Live the King", but if it's anything like the "Picaresquities" EP, I don't know if I'm gonna like it too much.

I agree with a lot of this. I've taken my share of heat around here for being less than enamored with "The Crane Wife." I love pretty much everything on their first two records, but after that I feel like they've been consistently good for 1/2 of a good album--excepting "Hazards," which I like in full probably more than it deserves.

"Picaresquities" was kind of a drag, but "After the Bombs" and "Culling of the Fold" were two of the better tracks from the Crane Wife sessions, and the "Always a Bridesmaid" EP's from 2008 had a few major keepers. That said, I've heard the "Row Jimmy" cover featured here, and all I can say is that I hope it's the low point of the bunch.

Reviewed this bad boy for Alternative Press this week:
http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/t ... he_king_ep

Not bad, not great. Fans should be pleased enough, casual listeners should have no reason to bother.

Foregone

I like most of the stuff The Decemberists do, but this is really not very good, at least after the first listen.

"Foregone" is marvelous, but the rest is forgettable in the grand scheme.

I think Burying Davy is outstanding!

I love this thing. Can't believe it took this long to check it out. But, yeah, Foregone....

"E Watson" and "Burying Davy" are both okay. They both have a by-numbers feel to them that doesn't do much for me. And Chris Funk sounds totally lost during "Davy"--Colin seems to be writing less and less to accommodate the weird eclecticism of the band. I wouldn't be surprised if we got a Meloy solo album before we got another Decemberists one.

Besides "Foregone," which is quick becoming one of my top songs by these guys, my favorite track on the EP is the home demo, "I4U and U4ME." It has the same offhand lightheartedness about it, if not the same lyrical commitment, that I think characterizes a lot of their best material.

Interesting. I love "I4U and U4ME" as well. But I'd characterize that one as much more by-the-numbers or "traditional" Decemberists. "E. Watson" as well. Though I think it's by-the-numbers done exceptionally well. Both "Foregone" and "Burying Davy" I think are a touch outside standard Decemberists. And I love when they get all folk-prog (I adore Crane Wife), so "Burying Davy" is a shade of Decembersits that I particularly enjoy, and think they wear it oh so well.

I think the first 4 tracks of this EP are better than a couple of the tracks that made The King Is Dead, in fact. I would have happily replaced "This Is Why We Fight" (a song that stinks of retread) with any of these, for example.