We Love the Decemberists

I can't remember who was the first person to mention the Decemberists in my presence. Someone who knew my musical tastes well, of course. Now it feels like I've always known them, although I only became acquainted with their music quite recently. It barely took me an hour to fall in love with this extraordinary ensemble, with their lush sound, a mixture of guitars, horns, violins, accordions and more, above which towers the voice of Colin Meloy, reminding me of Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch. They tell us that since their debut "[...] their sound has undergone a consistent evolution, most notably in the direction of progressive rock with a strong folk influence". This makes them one of the most interesting indie bands coming out of the US in recent times.

Although the birthplace of the 5 members of the band is known - Portland, Oregon - how they came to be is somewhat a matter of debate. On their website they tell us that they met in a Turkish bath, where they revealed their lives to one another between sips of a strange, tangerine liqueur. Further on, they tell us: "[...] One can surmise all one wants, but the truth should be known that, after adopting the moniker The Decemberists, these five wan vagabonds began playing their peculiarly styled pop music in various concert-halls and brothels all across the globe". Indeed, a sense of thatrical nostalgia infuses not just their biography, but most of their lyrics, echoed in such titles as Shanty for the Arethusa, The Legionnaire's Lament and The Bagman's Gambit. Three of their songs - The Engine Driver from Picaresque, The Soldiering Life from Her Majesty The Decemberists and Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect from Castaways & Cutouts - are available from their record label's website, Kill Rock Stars.

So thanks to the Decemberists for keeping the flame of indie rock alive. Still, one question remains unanswered: why the wrong spelling?!?!