March 29, 2005
The Decemberists- Picaresque, Reviewed.
The Decemberists- Picaresque
by Jack Allimony
Recent reviews of Picaresque, the brand new LP from The Decemberists (Kill Rock Stars), all seem to use the same word: theatrical. Indeed, there is hardly a better adjective. Picaresque is perhaps in the running for several Tony awards. Frontman Colin Meloy finds himself with an even sharper wit than displayed on 2003 Her Majesty, especially when it comes to dramatic story telling.
Musically, Picaresque contains all the melodies of British pop music and the glorious overindulgence of American (think the Smiths meet R.E.M.). While Picaresque is completely saturated with color, it never reaches the point of critical mass. It walks a tight rope through out its entirety; the writers, directors, and stars of this play have not only achieved their drama in subject matter, but in musical arrangement as well. It is sometimes called word painting when music mimics its subject, a refreshing practice when displayed.
One gets the impression that as far as the artist achieving what the artist was attempting for, Picaresque is a perfect ten. Meloy has the knack of picking a chord’s sweet spot with his voice, hitting the best possible melodies for the chords he has to work with. This ability and his talent for sweet lyrics, is evocative of another current Northwestern crooner, Ben Gibbard of
Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service.
Where Gibbard has little tolerance for encrypting his message, Meloy abounds. Unless he has experience as nineteenth century boy servant, or civil war soldier, very few of the stories that grace Picaresque seem autobiographical. However, that clichéd, elusive muse, the “human condition”, suggests that the poor luck of this century’s singers like Gibbard is common throughout all places and eras. On the track “Engine Driver” Meloy sings over the chorus, “I am a writer/writer of fiction/I am the heart that you call home/And I’ve written pages upon pages/trying to rid you from my bones”. Picaresque, couldn’t be more impressive. It is everything one finds in a good play, transmitted through instruments and microphones.