Picaresque

by The Decemberists

Overview

"The Infanta," the thunderous opening track on the Decemberists' fluid and predictably studious Picaresque, rolls in like a ghost ship at 40 knots in a hail of cannon fire with a mad English professor at the wheel. Colin Meloy and his esteemed West Coast colleagues have no qualms about beginning their third full-length record with a processional about a child monarch, and it's a testimony to their talents as orators and interpreters of both the absurd and the mundane that they continue to assimilate more fans than they alienate. While Picaresque follows its predecessor's -- the treacly Her Majesty -- predilection for seafaring and mythology, its boot-covered feet are more firmly planted in the present, resulting in the group's most accessible -- and decidedly upbeat -- product to date. The rollicking "16 Military Wives," the aforementioned "Infanta," and "The Sporting Live" (which comes dangerously close to Belle & Sebastian's "Stars of Track and Field") help balance the spooky atmospherics of more reserved cuts like "From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)" and "Eli, the Barrow Boy." The Decemberists have always excelled at midtempo British folk-inspired dream pop, and Picaresque is no exception, as the brooding "We Both Go Down Together," which sounds like a mist-drenched Pacific Northwest rendering of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion," and the wistful "Engine Driver" rank among the group's finest offerings. The album concludes with the diabolical "Mariner's Revenge Song," a Tin Pan Alley dirge/operetta reminiscent of Kurt Weill's "The Black Freighter," and the brief but intoxicating "Of Angels and Angles," a solo Meloy ballad celebrating the holy trinity of nautical lore: love, drowning, and death. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	03/22/2005
Label:	Kill Rock Stars
UPC:	0759656042529

Tracks

1. The Infanta
2. We Both Go Down Together
3. Eli, the Barrow Boy
4. The Sporting Life
5. The Bagman's Gambit
6. From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)
7. 16 Military Wives
8. The Engine Driver
9. On the Bus Mall
10. The Mariner's Revenge Song
11. Of Angels and Angles

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Decemberists   Primary Artist
Jenny Conlee   Primary Artist,Accordion,Keyboards,Voices
Chris Funk   Primary Artist,Guitar
Nate Query   Primary Artist
Colin Meloy   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar
Rachel Blumberg   Primary Artist,Vocals,Drums
Aaron Stewart   Tom-Tom,Tamtam
Eric Stern   Vocals,Tenor (Vocal)
Chris Walla   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Sean Nelson   Vocals,Voices
Petra Haden   Vocals,Violin,Voices
Paul Brainard   Trumpet
Jeff London   Brass,Shofar
John Roderick   Sound Effects
Tom Hill   Trombone
Joe Cunningham   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Baritone)

Technical Credits

Chris Walla   Audio Production,Mixing,Producer,Mixing Engineer
Jeff T Smith   Photography,Design
Chloe Richard   Photography
Marta Heitz   Artwork
May Barruel-Brussin   Translation
Midori Hirose   Artwork
Troy Tietjen   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Ed Brooks   Mastering Engineer
Jeff Smith   Assistant,Lighting Design
Colin Meloy   Composer
John Roderick   Unknown Contributor Role
Paul Brainard   Arranger,Horn Arrangements
The Decemberists   Producer,Unknown Contributor Role
Mike King   Design
Carson Ellis   Design,Set Design,Group Member,Illustrations,Costume Design,Unknown Contributor Role
Dawn Barger   Group Member,Unknown Contributor Role
Alicia J. Rose   Design,Artwork,Make-Up,Photography,Lighting Design
Bernadette Spears   Design
Seann McKeel   Design