What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
Where\'s an erstwhile indie band to go after scoring a No. 1 album? If you\'re The Decemberists, you keep a tight grip on your rarefied blend of idiosyncrasy and accessibility. Following up their commercial hit *The King Is Dead*, the Portland troupe continue to craft graceful, pop-kissed melodies with lambent folk-rock arrangements. On *What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World*, the band muse about everything from carnal cravings (\"Philomena\") to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (\"12/17/12\"). Yet, The Decemberists\' best subject proves to be themselves, whether they\'re feigning an apology to fans for their artistic evolution (\"The Singer Addresses His Audience\") or unfurling the bookish equivalent of Bob Seger\'s \"Night Moves\" (the luminous \"Lake Song\").
On their seventh album, the Decemberists sound like a polite, modern folk rock band with only a touch of the usual antiquity. They seem wrapped up in themselves, wistful and mature, careful not to become caricatures while also trying to push their sound forward.
Erudite and punctilious, Portland, Oregon act The Decemberists emerged in the early ’00s, polarizing from the outset. Frontman Colin Meloy used his nasal croon to captivate legions of ardent acolytes, capturing the hearts of Smiths and R.E.M. fans alike with his whip-smart lyrics and a keen ear for inventive melodic…
A scattershot return from their longest hiatus yet, we should still be happy to have it, with our appetites whetted in hopes it won’t be as long for something better next time out.
Colin Meloy's music has always been meant to be consumed from a literary perspective. The indie-folk demigod and frontman of The Decemberists even morphed into a YA novelist in the four years since the band's last release, The King is Dead. But it seems as if now, on the seventh LP by The Decemberists, What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World, that Meloy has left the robust character development to the novels and instead focused on more general subjects, while building a new notion of Americana in the digital age.
Check out our album review of Artist's What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World on Rolling Stone.com.
The Decemberists belatedly embraced their indie pop sensibilities (or at very least their fondness for R.E.M.) on 2011's The King Is Dead, and were rewarded with a number one chart placing and the group's greatest commercial success to date, leading some to wonder if Colin Meloy and his bandmates were going to go for more hooks or return to the more ornate sound of their earlier work now that they had a large audience waiting for the follow-up.
The Decemberists have long since ascended to indie rock royalty despite a history of prog influences and obtuse lyrics – usually anathema to the mainstream.
Terrible World is the band's first studio LP since 2011's The King Is Dead, and it reveals a band older, wiser, and less reliant on the quirks and gimmicks of earlier releases (see: "The Crane Wife" parts 1-3, "The Mariner's Revenge Song," The Hazards of
The Decemberists’ new album, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, is built on a series of wild stylistic vacillations.
The Decemberists continue down the path that led to 2011’s hit album The King Is Dead, and it suits them well, writes <strong>Dave Simpson</strong>
The Decemberists - What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World review: Not so starry-eyed anymore, and better for it.