I'll Be Your Girl
For their eighth studio album, *I\'ll Be Your Girl*, The Decemberists worked with producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey) and tinkered with their acoustic style, adding synth-driven grooves and assertive tempos. Songs like “Severed” and “Cutting Stone” sound expansive, opening new vistas of mood. “Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild Rushes” comprises multiple suites of grandeur, gently unfurling with ambition and conviction. The Decemberists save room for their acoustic heartbeat—check “Everything Is Awful” and “Sucker’s Prayer” for amazing songs about despair.
Buoyed by a fresh coat of synths and a streamlined energy, the Decemberists’ latest is a curious middle-of-the-road album, teasing a number of directions without committing to any of them.
Hot Snakes sound more aggressive than ever on Jericho Sirens, while Bishop Nehru’s Elevators gets a lift from skilled collaborators, and The Decemberists turn in their most divisive album yet. These, plus Mount Eerie’s follow-up to last year’s stunning A Crow Looked At Me in this week’s notable new releases.
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On 'I'll Be Your Girl,' Colin Meloy swaps britches for leather jeans, stylistic fusions and confusions ensue
Despite their dark subject material, they’ve never been a group to take themselves too seriously.
At the heart of Creep Show’s singular aesthetic is the contrast between John Grant’s upholstered croon and Stephen Mallinder’s more fragmentary vocals
The shorthand description of I'll Be Your Girl, the Decemberists' eighth album, is that it's the record where the band decide to ditch the past and engage with the modern world, layering their folk-rock with synthesizers and other contemporary accouterments.
The Portland band replace their lutes with synths on an album with some great moments, but lacking a unifying theme or style.
The Decemberists' allure has always been their ability to sweep the listener away from the doldrums of everyday life into an enchanting universe where old-world characters merged with new-world musical motifs.
Aiming for playful rebirth, the Decemberists instead land on cloying kitsch with I’ll Be Your Girl.
Portland, Oregon quintet the Decemberists have always excelled at meshing clever and captivating lyricism, distinguishing vocals, fetching melodies, and...
'I'll Be Your Girl' by The Decemberists: The Decemberists change up their game while keeping their wit in our review of 'I'll Be Your Girl'