#76 - a long december-ists.

if there's one band i've been completely conflicted about (other than NIN, pearl jam & modest mouse), it's been the decemberists, who just (physically) released their fifth full-length, the hazards of love, this week. it's their 2nd full-length with capitol records, after the debut on hush records, which was re-released by kill rock stars, who then released their next two full-lengths & an EP before the band departed for capitol. a quick rundown of their works...

castaways & cutouts - this was their debut album & it was solid, which led to the much-deserved initial buzz & attention. as someone who at one point had dreamt i'd be an architect, i instantly loved the fact there's a song on the album called "here i dreamt i was an architect." there are other standout songs as well--"july, july," "odalisque"--& the songs are replete with the well-written instrumentation & story-filled lyrics that have become synonymous with the band.

her majesty the decemberists - i've always thought that their sophomore album (which is actually the shortest of their five full-lengths) drags on. unlike the rest of the albums, there are no songs on here that really stuck with me, although other folks really seem to enjoy songs like "billy liar" & "los angeles i'm yours."

the tain - this eighteen-minute five-part EP was recorded over four days & other than a few flourishes on the first two albums, was the first time we really got to hear the band's metal side, starting with the opening track.

picaresque - their third album starts off with "the infanta," a solid opener & features a handful of songs that both contribute to the overall feel of the album & stand alone well as songs--"the sporting life," "the bagman's gambit," "16 military wives." at the time, i felt like this was their most solid album from start to finish.

the crane wife - "the perfect crime no. 2," off of this album, might be my favorite booty-shaking decemberists song of all. it's got a discolike beat to it & i have this one positive memory of a cute girl quietly singing along to the chorus of it as it played on the radio of a van that was bringing a bunch of us back to the city after a daylong film shoot down in jersey. out of all their albums, this is the one i've gone back to the most, as it also includes opportunities to both sing along ("o valencia!") & rock out ("when the war came").

the singles series - near the end of 08, almost two years after the release of the crane wife & at a time when the band was still getting back into the swing of things after cancelling a tour & going on a short hiatus, they released this three-volume set of singles as the "always the bridesmaid" series. for me, the highlight is "valerie plame," a song about the former c.i.a. operative who was exposed by the bush administration after her husband's "what i didn't find in africa" piece in the ny times revealed holes/lies/exaggerations in their reasoning for invading iraq.

the hazards of love - from what i've heard via industry chatter, the path that they took leading up to this album (canceled tour, a colin meloy solo release, time off, the singles series) was the right choice. things weren't going in the right direction mentally. so now we have the new album. it's definitely the hardest-rocking of all their albums, which is more in tune with my current tastes, so currently, i'm digging it. at the same time, the album feels like one hour-long song, as the songs tend to blend into each other, so we'll see how long my love of the album lasts.

...so i continue to be conflicted about the decemberists. at times, i really get into their songs or find myself lost in the journey of one of their albums, with its suites & multi-part songs & ambitious storylines & whatnot, but sometimes, i just can't take it. i can't take it & colin meloy's voice becomes whiny & the songs become too sea-shantyish for my tastes & i end up wanting to find an accordion just so i can smash it against the wall.

#76 - a long december-ists.
snack: pringles onion blossom restaurant cravers
drink: belhaven twisted thistle i.p.a.

as i went back tonight & listened to the decemberists' catalog from beginning to end, hoping to eventually come at some sort of ultimate judgment/epiphany about them (an epiphany that never came), i snacked from a can of pringles onion blossom restaurant cravers. pringles, who in the past few years introduced "pringles select" flavors & "pringles stix" (an item i have yet to see), have recently come out with a number of "restaurant craver" flavors--onion blossom, mexican layered dip, cheesy fries, cheeseburger, slow cooked bbq, mozzarella sticks & marinara. some flavors have died off. some have survived.

the onion blossom flavored chips have a strange taste to them but they've managed to survive regardless.  also, as the can is of the "super stack" variety, it's so tall that it doesn't even fit in any of my plebian kitchen cabinets. i'm assuming that pringles is in cahoots with outback steakhouse & their infamous bloomin onion dish & as such, taste & convenience are secondary concerns.

the first thing you taste when eating these chips is a putrid & overpowering horseradish flavor that, once it eventually dissipates, leaves you with a faint, underwhelming onion taste. it's not in the least bit pleasant...i did use the word "putrid," after all.  still, since i'm a trooper, i kept eating them anyhow & discovered that by the tenth-or-so chip, my taste buds went into some sort of defense mode where, for their own good, they lied down & played dead, succumbing to the taste.

luckily i had beer to wash the taste away. in the spirit of "the hazards of love 1 (the prettiest whistles won't wrestle the thistles undone)," the 2nd single released off the hazards of love, i picked up a bottle of belhaven twisted thistle i.p.a.  given the name & label, i was sort of expecting a flowery taste, but nope. as far as i.p.a.s go, it's not really anything out of the ordinary, so if you're looking for a fun experience with this beer, the only way you're going to get it is to down a bottle quicklike & play a few rounds of "say twisted thistle tens times fast" with your friends. alcohol + words = awesome!

Comments

[allison]

Dude, no love for the 5 Songs EP? But, "The Apology Song" is a stone classic!!

Castaways and Cutouts = still my fave.

Her Majesty, the Decemberists = a vote for sentimentality, since it's their first album I ever heard. Plus, it has "Red Right Ankle."

The Tain = love it. Heard them play it in its entirety the first time I ever saw them live and it blew my mind. Nate Query is a beast on bass.

Picaresque = despite many high points throughout ("The Engine Driver" into "On the Bus Mall" is an incredible sequence; some of C. Meloy's best storytelling), this album felt like a bit of a snooze for me when it first came out. I don't find myself returning to it all that often.

The Crane Wife = mega points for ambitiousness that's still married to their own unique sensibility. "Sons & Daughters" can often bring me to tears. A perfect album-closer.

Singles Series = wtf? Could never figure out when these were coming out and where I could download them, so I still haven't caught up with them yet.

The Hazards of Love = the jury's still out for me. I don't feel like I've connected with it emotionally, but I do find that several little bits of melody can get stuck in my head, and I LOOOOVE everything that Shara Worden does on this album.