The Decemberists
Issue #29
The Crane Wife (Capitol)
By Anna Breshears
Published: September 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
The Decemberists’ brainy balladry pairs florid lyrics with an expansive conglomeration of musical styles from folk to rock to waltz and beyond. Drawing upon historical events and literature as inspiration, singer-songwriter Colin Meloy relates grandiose and often bleak narratives populated by a rogue’s gallery of soldiers, sailors, prostitutes, murderers, and lovers in a signature, nasal-y warble. The Crane Wife was inspired by a Japanese folk tale of the same name, contains a 13-minute opus, and at least half its songs feature a tragic death.
On their fourth long player, the Decemberists, who recently signed with major label Capitol, take their melancholy fantasies one step further: Wife is less DIY costume drama and more operatic in scope and execution. Meloy begins at the end of the story (“Crane Wife 3”) and follows with an imagined prequel before returning to the tale’s beginning (“Crane Wife 1 & 2”) toward the album’s close. Minutes in, the Decemberists break out their four-part epic “The Island” with guitarist Chris Funk’s exploration of slinky ’70s wah-wah leading the way. Jenny Conlee steals the show with an eddy of psychedelic/medieval keyboards, providing the frenzied backdrop to a murder and rape scene before the song shifts into a rolling epitaph for a girl thrown to the sea. This emotional onslaught is offset by the enchanting dual vocal melodies of Civil War tune “Yankee Bayonet” and “O Valencia!”’s irresistible jauntiness, though it should surprise no one that the breezy pop beats of these songs belie the fate of their characters. Meloy remains playfully wicked while warning children of the dangers associated with not listening to Mom on twisted folk lullaby “Shankill Butchers.”
The Crane Wife proves the Decemberists capable of broadening their vision. The album is a remarkable accomplishment, and one’s enjoyment of it is not dependent on knowing its literary origins. Despite their intricacy and poetic spirit, the Decemberists songs remain pop music at their core and quite easy on the ears.
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