Search - The Decemberists :: The Crane Wife

Joshua B. (littleborge) from ATHENS, GA
Reviewed on 11/4/2020...

If story-songs and singer-songwriters are your thing then this will very much make a good impression on you. And maybe it will broaden your horizons from more boring run-of-the-mill folk rock. It's cool that they signed to a major label but stayed good...for awhile. I didn't think I'd like this but now I think I like it more than the first and second albums. If it's not your thing then I will not try to convince you otherwise. It ain't Nickelback and stuff.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

All that divides, in one compelling CD

K. Akers | Vienna, VA USA | 07/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first listen had me intrigued, until I woke up the next morning, about to embark on a 6 hour road trip by myself, and found that images from The Crane Wife had invaded my dreams. Then I became mildly obsessed, listening to the disc five times in a row on a sunny stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Decemberists' fourth ablum defies categorization: its lyrics time-travel from what seems to be ancient Japan to the Civil War to the glory days of gangs and crime, to a perfect day at the beach. The music trips around, as well, invoking The Replacements, Yes, Pearl Jam, and even Mike Oldfield. I was struck repeatedly by the chasms that emerge in the songs - when innocent meets evil in The Island; between North and South (and living and dead) in Yankee Bayonet; between intent and impact in The Crane Wife 2; between what appears on the surface and the danger that lurks beneath in Summersong. The lyrics are old-world, courtly, and Colin Meloy sings them with a flat detachment that lends a chill creepiness ("the weight upon your eyelids | is dimes laid on your eyes"): even on the sunniest song, Meloy gives the impression that he's just stating the facts, as "summer blows away and quietly gets swallowed by a wave" (lah di dah di dah). A truly splendid CD, and one that rewards repeated listening, it's also one that can get under your skin. Be warned - there are dreams ahead."