The Decemberists are a strange band-even more so than other bands named after obscure historical references. Working in a bookstore, Decemberists' singer and songwriter Colin Meloy came across a collection of Gaelic folklore. He'd make it into an album, an emotive, moody and uncharacteristically hard rock EP The Tain. One 18-minute opus, The Tain. But he'd make that album of eighth-century fable as a follow up to the album that cemented his band's fame, 2002's Her Majesty. Only after everyone was watching would they do something truly odd.
\Yeah, The Tain was a red herring,"" Meloy explains. ""But I plan on everything we record being a red herring. I don't want to be defined by one archetype or one time period.""
A theatrical, orchestral pop album, Her Majesty quickly garnered comparisons both to Belle and Sebastian and to nautical folk songs; and not only because their lyrics mentioned pirates and seafaring themes, but also because the album sounded lonely and wanting like its seafaring song peers.
Her Majesty may well be the focal point of The Decemberists' career for years to come. It was an album so good that it became the story, and not the bands elaborately chosen name. Until the band formed, the only people who had heard of The Decemberists were scholars of Russian history. The Decemberists, at least the Russian ones, were failed revolutionaries.
The Decemberists (American) stay away from political overthrow, regardless of their time. While fellow liberals have scheduled their concerts to touch on the upcoming election, from the upcoming Yo La Tengo anti-Bush variety show to the upcoming Dave Mathews anti-Bush concert, The Decemberists will appear in Madison tonight in an apolitical role.
""I don't think our music lends itself to political posturing,"" Meloy says, subtly sliding in a dig at the more grandiose concerts. ""But our music is as pro-equality as it can be, and I don't see how a Republican can get into a song about gay soldiers in the trenches. I take issue with preaching to the choir, and I don't think your typical Decemberists fan will be voting for Bush. We are involved, locally, with the queer community, and we had Music for America volunteers registering kids to vote on our last tour. I sometimes think about making political statements, but considering our music, it doesn't seem to belong there.""
The Decemberists will be stopping in Madison tonight, having just finished their new album that will be released in April. Colin calls it the most Decemberists album of the Decemberists' albums yet, and believes it whole-heartedly, even though he can't explain what it means.
""It has that ineffable quality,"" he insists. But with so much ground they've covered, from Ireland to Russia to the sea in between, it'd be hard to explain the band's ethic.
