Let’s do it. Let’s go full hipster.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t use the phrase “hipster” to belittle or diminish. In fact, I use it as a form of backward compliment. It’s a way of saying, listen, I’m not going to look classically cool listening to this, and I objectively know that this music is smarter than me. While some artists are running around smashing guitars, trying to perpetuate an image of the live-fast rock star, The Decemberists are saying “We’re completely unashamed music school nerds who sing songs about the daughter of the reigning Spanish monarch.”

The advantage of listening to a band that so clearly puts work into their musicianship and writing is that you can expect everything they deliver to be top quality. Nothing is released simply for the sake of it, and this translates right down to their packaging.

The 180g records are held in clear plastic sleeves, doing away with the paper entirely. This is a touch of class that makes the purchase feel worth the money, while undoubtedly also lending extra protection to the records themselves. Both are held in their own sleeve of a gatefold jacket which is absolutely coated in artwork. The booklet is glued to the inside of the fold, meaning the jacket itself opens and reads like a book. Each page is dedicated either to an individual song or to photography, creating a phenomenal tangible experience and an easy medium to read along to the music.

And the experience keeps impressing after the needle drops. The jump in quality from digital is among the biggest in my collection. This is a group that clearly recorded and mastered with this medium in mind. Not only does every string pluck, drum strike, and low end bass note ring through crystal clear, you feel as if you’re in the room with it. Every acoustic quality resonates, and with the diverse array of classical instruments the band draws upon, it really makes for a pleasing listening experience.

This is just a band that goes the extra mile, be it their writing, recording, or packaging. By my preference there are some standout songs on the album, but the whole record is a treat and worth digging into. To fully enjoy one has to follow suit and go the extra mile themselves, reading up to see exactly what some of these tunes are about.

The Infanta

Right out of the gate we get some of that low end we were talking about with the galloping drum rolls and snare. This galloping, driving roll continues for the duration of the song, giving the song a sense of urgency, and lining up with the lyrical themes of large groups of people travelling at once on camel/elephant-back.

Strings, keyboards, and guitars fill out the sound, but don’t take prominent lead in the verses. The drums remain the main event in these sections along with vocals, only taking the back seat in the bridge sections between verses. The song is rife with interesting musical choices, the result of which is a very robust, epic tone.

This song is an excellent opener; a primer for the songs to come. A stand-out on the album, but not so much so as to set you up for disappointment. It’s placement on the album allows me to comfortably show the album to new listeners, confident that their like or dislike of the album can be determined early. If you enjoy The Infanta, you’ll enjoy the record.

The Sporting Life

Here our drummer goes again with the low toms, giving the song a driving yet upbeat and fun timbre, with keyboards and various other instruments peppered through to carry it along.

I’m originally drawn to this song simply for it’s catchy beat and melody; it’s a fun song to toe-tap along to. It makes you want to boogie. But then I quickly notice the lyrics, telling a much more simplistic story than some of our previous tracks. There’s a humorous irony in the fact that a story about an athletically inept nerd disappointing his father and coach is told through a somewhat pretentious indie folk-rock song. Perhaps this speaks to The Decemberists’ self awareness of who their target market is.

16 Military Wives

This is another case of my being drawn to a song for it’s fun musical qualities and digging deeper later. It’s fun to hear a song that’s more guitar driven at first, albeit it is paired up with (and later drowned out by) keyboard and (even later) horns. The bursting keyboard notes keep your toe tapping on time, while the rest of the arrangement makes you want to swing your partner around. The horns and keys crescendo, reaching a climax in the bridge, putting an emphasis on the last half-verse before bringing us back to chorus.

The lyrics are cleverly arranged, first singing of military wives and their serving husbands, not all of whom returned. You’re led to think the band is singing again of obscure references you may have to Google. But then in the second verse this is juxtaposed against celebrity culture, and what the news tends to focus on day to day. There’s a million ways to take this, but for me the last verse brings it together:

Fourteen cannibal kings

Wondering blithely when the dinner bell will bring

Fifteen celebrity minds

Served on a leafy bed of sixteen military wives

To me there’s a clear sarcasm to dedicating a verse to military wives, then a verse to celebrities and the awards they win, and this verse seems to call into question whether this is something worth fighting for.

This is a great example of The Decemberists hitting that sweet spot that every band should strive for of drawing a listener in with fun musicianship, and making them thinking after further analysis.

In all, this is a great album for anyone who has a music-nerd bone that they enjoy tickling. There’s nothing “cool” about this album in the traditional sense…maybe I’m too brainwashed from a childhood of punk rock and hip hop…but it is chock full of skillful musicianship and masterful songwriting. If you like indie rock and something a little intellectually stimulating, then The Decemberists are for you.

The vinyl edition too is a level up by all metrics. From packaging to artwork to sound, it’s an absolute must-have for your collection. If you’ve ever needed a product to justify vinyl as a medium, then this is the place to start: Buy it here (or here for Canada).

So here we are again at the end of another review. Maybe I’m a little hard on myself and caught up on the idea of “cool”. The Decemberists are a great band and I should take them at face value…I’m sure someone will let me know.

But again, thanks for popping in for another review! For my next post I’m going to try a new experiment. If I were to rank a form of entertainment that I am passionate about second to music, it would be a pretty clear choice: stand up comedy. I love stand up, and I nerd out about it just as hard as I do music. Sometimes harder.

So here I am writing a vinyl blog, blissfully unaware that some of the best comics in the world release exclusive recordings on vinyl. Alas, I quickly ran out and got myself a record by one of my favorites: Bill Burr’s “Live at Andrew’s House”. So I’ll give that a listen, nerd out a bit about comedy, and see what I think of vinyl as a medium to consume comedy.

Hopefully that piques someone’s interest, and if not, no worries! We’ll be back to the music reviews in no time. Again, for the nth time, thanks for stopping by, and until next time,

I’m Not Your Dad.