Album Review- The Decemberists- As it Ever Was, Shall It Be Again

The Decemberists were part of a high water mark for indie rock circa the early 2000s, -which now has been called by the masses “Dad Rock”- with bands like Wilco, the National, and TV On the Radio- Pitchfork endorsed favorites whose audiences have inevitably aged. It’s all kind of silly, but every generation needs its Steely Dan. 

 The Decemberists were one of my favorite bands of this movement. It may technically have been indie rock but it featured sea shanties, murder ballads and other various narratives. Almost every in depth story of the band states that they were theater geeks in school not garage band punks. Colin Meloy is famously a huge Smiths fan and that intersects with REM- style college rock and as their Allmusic profile says - a strand of folk from bands like Fairport Convention and Pentangle. Their sound was truly unique which is why I liked them. Something offbeat akin to the Pogues or Camper Van Beethoven. 

For me, the band’s third album “Picaresque” was where every thing gelled. On that album, what may be their signature song “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” which did what it advertised. The band made the major label jump for 2011s The Hazard of Love which was still telling a complicated plot, but things were changing, and the next album 2011’s The King Is Dead despite the Smiths’ sounding name really seemed as if the band was now moving into respectful indie rock territory. Peter Buck guested and it seemed the band was hoping to duplicate REMs mainstream success. But with the change in sound, I found myself no longer really that interested in the band. Albums in 2015 and 2018 came and went with little attention from me 

 But ahead of 2024s As it Ever Was, Shall It Be Again, the band released “Burial Ground” a collaboration with another Aughts indie hero James Mercer of the Shins. Probably their most striking single since 2011s “ The Rake’s Song”. Band promo materials suggest that the album title may be apt with the band looking to incorporate all the sounds of their two-decade-plus career. 

Indeed, songs like “William Fitzwillam” would probably fit comfortably on those early albums. It’s interesting to see Redditors try to pin down the sound - Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Drive By Truckers- and I am not sure I would use any of those artists, it does give some insight into how left of center the band remains. To further prove the point, while the album begins with the radio hit sounding “Burial Ground”, it ends with the near 20- minute “Joan in the Garden”. Sure, it probably could have been edited but for the most part holds all the way through and if the bands want to add prog rock and 70s arena rock to their arsenal, I think we should let them. As It Ever Was is a wonderful return to form, and while album promo materials tend to be hyperbolic, it certainly sounds like the band put a considerable amount of effort in making the best album they could.