The Decemberists – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again
welcome back folks! the last in our discography catch up series is a record that came out last week – we’re taking a look at The Decemberists’ As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again!
its been very interesting listening to this so closely after Saviors, Green Day’s newest record. Green Day and the Decemberists are both bands i believe have created phenomenal, top tier records in the past, while they were young, and both have spent the multiple decades after their biggest records making more music, much of it different from the types that set them apart originally. a part of what i think works here and doesnt for Green Days is specific to what i liked about Dookie and how that artistic perspective changes when youre not young and/or broke, and how Colin Meloy’s songwriting voice, even from the beginning, attempted to be a bit less grounded in reality, but i also think that the Decemberists have pushed the boundaries on their sound a lot more.
the shift towards more US/American folks influences in the post Crane Wife/Hazards of Love discography hasnt been to everyone’s taste, but i really do love a ton of what theyve put out since then, and the variety keeps up here. Burial Ground, featuring James Mercer, is quant and idyllic, and an excellent opener. i find it a tad repetitious, but i really enjoyed listening to it as the lead single and it makes a great introduction here. Oh No! has a classical dance sound i have a hard time placing (my brain is saying samba or tango but i cant be confident about that), and the horn lines are channeling the same type of swing as Hell by the Squirrel Nut Zippers in a way thats infectious and delightful. Born to the Morning has some interesting electronic distortions on its folky sounds – the processing on Meloy’s voice aint really for me, but i can absolutely see this appealing to others. Long White Veil, another of my faves (and another song referencing a wedding, after Oh No!), has the acoustic guitar and twang of a late 80s/early 90s country song. and the closer of the record, Joan in the Garden, is a sprawling epic, covering like 4 movements over its 18 minutes. there’s bits of old Decemberists in here too, beyond the lyrical or thematic material, though it seems to my ear to blend with their other experiments well enough to not stand out on the record.
and speaking of thematic material, i wasnt disappointed by the lyrics here either. there’s grim storytelling throughout – i mentioned the wedding songs above, neither of which are joyous, and songs like The Reapers and Don’t Go to the Woods are menacing and forboding. Joan in the Garden and William Fitzwilliam draw from historical narratives, and even America Made Me returns to the subject originally discussed in Sixteen Military Wives, in a political landscape no less fraught than it was two decades ago. i also appreciate the more tender moments here. one of my favorite songs on the record is All I Want Is You. its a song with very little artifice, and its an achingly sweet love song.
the track that engages the most thought for me is the closer, Joan in the Garden. the early parts of the song are quieter – ethereal and idyllic, and the song shifts after is first introduces the chants of “hosanna”, bringing in more instrumentation, more bombastic sounds, and a slow swell over two minutes before launching into a second verse and a larger bridge of “hosanna”s. i dont really enjoy the harsher and more abstract transition that happens between the like, 11th and 16th minutes, but the hard rock/early metal sounds of the final movement are some of the best on the record. an incredibly successful fitting of apocalyptic and “day of reckoning” narrative to musical sound, and an excellent way to tie the threads of the record together. shame im less fond of the earlier parts of the song.
faves – Oh No!, Long White Veil, All I Want Is You
dislikes –
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again – 8/10
and that means it’s time to pick the next discography! i have a suggestion from a reader who hasn’t suggested any discography before, so that’s jumping to the top of the list – the suggestion says to skip the first few records, but that’s not how we do things around here, so we’ll be checking out Aesop Rock’s first record, Music For Earthworms, next week!
support the band by checking this release out on Bandcamp
first: 5 Songs EP | previous: Travelling On | next: who knows!
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