Description

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the Decemberists burst onto the indie-rock scene in the early 2000s, weaving complex, literary narratives (courtesy of singer/songwriter Colin Meloy) through layers of chiming, acoustic-based folk-rock. Meloy's literary bent doesn't express itself only in his richly rendered lyrics, either; in 2004, he contributed to the music-based 33 1/3 series of books by writing one about the Replacements' classic LET IT BE album, which was a surprisingly important influence on his own music.

Biography

Colin Meloy leads the Decemberists a five-piece outfit whose pop sound has been compared to the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel and Belle Sebastian Meloy who hails from Missoula MT is the main songwriter for the group Rounding out the lineup are Ezra Holbrook on drums Nate Query on upright bass Jenny Conlee on accordion and Chris Funk on theremin and pedal steel guitar Frontman Meloy previously devoted some time to an alternative country group before breaking off to pursue his craft as a singersongwriter in the city of Portland a period that eventually led to the Decemberists formation He also holds a degree in creative writing In addition to her duties on the accordion Conlee plays piano Funk is the bands newest member Before Hush Records released the Decemberists first album in 2002 the group put out an EP of five tracks Their full-length debut Castaways and Cutouts was re-released that same year on the Kill Rock Stars label and the band began to accumulate a serious fan base 2003 saw the release of Her Majesty another fine collection of theatrical indie pop with British folk sensibilities that further cemented their growing reputation as a band to watch The following year they released the five-part epic EP The Tain based on the eighth century Irish poem of the same name followed by their third full-length Picaresque in 2005 The group made the move to the majors Capitol Records for 2006s The Crane Wife Linda Seida All Music Guide