The Bachelor and the Bride

There's a wrinkle in the water
Where we laid our first daughter
And I think the wind blows so sweetly there.
Over there.

And the windows and the cinders
And the willows in the timbers.
The infernal rattling of the rain
Still remains.

"But I," said the bachelor to the bride,
"Am not waiting for tonight.
No, I, I will box your ears
And leave you here stripped bare,
Stripped bare."

Hear the corncrakes and the deerhooves
And the sleet rain on the slate roof.
A medallion locked inside her hands.
In her hands.

And his fingers, are they telling
Of the barren of her belly?
Do his calluses cure her furrowed brow,
Even now?

"But I," said the bachelor to the bride,
"Am not waiting for tonight.
No, I, I will box your ears
And leave you here stripped bare,
Stripped bare."

"But I," said the bachelor to the bride,
"Am not waiting for tonight.
No, I, I will box your ears
And take your tears
And leave you, leave you here
Stripped bare."

Album of the Moment #2: The Hazards of Love

So I have been meaning to do this for months now, but every time I plan on doing so something else comes up. It's especially sad that such a thing kept happening because The Decemberists are without a doubt my favorite band ever and I even bought the album just to support them (if you know me then you also know why that is a big deal).

The Hazards of Love is the band's fifth album (and second under the Capitol Records label) and is probably their most successful one to date. I say probably because although it has not yet sold as many copies as at least one other album, it did debut at #14 and managed to sell 19,210 copies in its first week. The album was also #1 on iTunes during that time.

Now, the fun part. What makes the Hazards of Love such an interesting album, aside from the great lyrics, rhythms, and all that jazz, is that it centers around a love story that is played out across the album with recurring characters. The band's lead singer, Colin Meloy, is joined by Becky Stark (of Lavender Diamond), Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), and Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) to spin a tale of love, pregnancy, jealousy, betrayal, and murder.

"The Hazards of Love centers around a love story, similar to the use of recurring stories in The Crane Wife: a woman named Margaret (voiced by Stark) falls in love with a shape-shifting forest dweller (voiced by Meloy). A jealous forest queen (voiced by Worden) and an ensemble of recurring characters bring conflict to the album's story arc." -Wikipedia

So yes, The Hazards of Love is a seventeen-track, 58:36-minute, adventure of sound and narrative. The band has been on the road promoting the album with their "A Short Fazed Hovel Tour" since the beginning of the year and it came to my area earlier in June but I was forced to miss it because I wasn't really interested in going to a concert by myself. I went to their concert when they were promoting their last album, The Crane Wife, back in 2006 and I caught a part of their concert (illegally from across the street) when they performed outdoors with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2007 so it isn't like I haven't seen them before (and with their current popularity I am sure they will be back soon).

I am planning to do a full album run-through as the summer goes on that will attempt to sum up the entire album song by song and hopefully lay out the entire story. So, if you don't have the album, and don't have the internet essentially because you couldn't possibly miss this is, then I suggest you give it a listen! Do it! Do it nao!!

The Decemberists Play Their New Album in Its Entirety at SxSW

So I have been a huge fan of The Decemberists for some time now (they have held strong as my favorite English speaking band), so when they release new music I am no small amount of overjoyed. The Hazards of Love is the band's fifth album, their second under Capitol Records, and features a host of new sounds and styles from the indie rock superstars. But that's enough about the album itself for now (I plan on doing a full impressions post when I receive my copy), because the reason why I am posting this is to draw all of your attention to the fact that the band played the entirety of the album, in order, at South by Southwest 2009.

Yes, the band, along with Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond, hit the stage in Austin around 1 a.m. this past Thursday and played through the entirety of the fifty-eight minute album. The performance included numerous costume changes and elaborate set designs in an effort to keep with the narrative theme of The Hazards of Love. You can listen to the full performance, which includes two old favorites at the end, here at npr music's site. The page also offers a bit more info as well as a few pictures from the show. I have listened to the full one hour and twenty-two minute live podcast and I must say that this is far beyond what I expected, which is really saying something. Enjoy everyone and be sure to check out the album on iTunes now or wait for the full release March 24th!