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    You'd notice these folks if they were walking down Main Street in your town with their stuffy 1880's attire, Japanese hand fans and, well, make-up, but would you know that they are The Decemberists?

    Like their name, The Decemberists' music is unconventional. But that didn't stopped the group from rocketing upward - at warp speed compared to many other artists - to become one of the top indie bands of the past few years.

    However, some of the group's first and most loyal fans were, let's say, less than happy when the band "crossed the line" and went big-time, signing on with Capitol Records this year to record The Crane Wife.

    The group's founder, singer and songwriter, Colin Meloy, told The Boston Globe that signing with Capitol had not interfered with his work because the contract stipulates that "the label would stay out of the creative process."

    Nevertheless, the talented indie quintet has wooed fans with their experimental, infectious music that combines pop and rock with contemporary and British folk influences infused with theatrical transitions, catchy melodies, melancholic bass lines, and crafty, often quirky, lyrics and subject matter.

    Hints of Cake, Belle & Sebastian, They Might Be Giants and Tom Waits are sprinkled throughout their music. There are definitely other artists The Decemberists can be compared with simply because the diversity and depth of their music makes it hard to categorize them.

    Meloy's music is described, on The Decemberists' official web site, as "an infallible melodic knack with a venturesome lyrical palette equally suitable for painting fantastical songs full of sea captains, legionnaires, chimney sweeps and seekers of all kinds."

    The Missoulian spotlights the rise in popularity of The Decemberists - from the buzz initially created by a few indie bloggers and college radio disc jockeys, to their uncanny inability to be labeled by mainstream music journalism, and their frequent play volume on radio stations across the country and around the world.

    Decemberists' Video Contest
    Contribute your animation to a Decemberists' music video of "O Valencia" and win a computer. A green-screen contest? Hmmm, Didn't Steven Colbert do that first?

    Go to MTV for more details. Deadline is December 15, 2006! You can also sample and download Decemberists' songs for less than .30 cents each (with monthly subscription).

    Labels: ,



      12:51 AM November 12, 2006   

    4 Comments:

    At 5:50 PM , Anonymous Carrie in Lincoln, NE said...

    Great article. It doesn't bother me all that much that the group went "big-time". Many indie bands like Pavement, The Killers, The New Pornographers hav made it big and they music is still good. I guess the question is - for how long?

     
    At 12:37 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I think you nailed it on the head carrie. As log as theyre approach to music hasnt been tainted, the band is still indie. I think at first it was easy to categorize indie bands by simply not having the money backbone of big labels. But I think indie bands now are best categorized by their approach to music and not simply their popularity status. Us indie people need to stop bieng so selfish (if thats how u spell it)

     
    At 7:10 AM , Anonymous Nicole Fafalios said...

    You MUST check out this rock band from Boston - I saw them in NYC - They're called The Honors - their live performance is the best I've seen in YEARS! www.myspace.com/thehonorsmusic - they kind of sound like a blend of Killers/Coldplay/The National/UT ish - I'll be surprised if they're not famous soon!

     

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    Current and upcoming releases (US dates)

    12/7/09 Ólafur Arnalds - Dyad 1909
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    2/9/10 Yeasayer - Odd Blood
    2/23/10 Shout Out Louds - Work
    2/23/20 Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago
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    3/9/10 Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
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    Best 2009 Indie Releases

    2009 best indie albums
    Favorite 2009 indie albums in no particular order; strongly recommend these for your music collection.

    Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree In The Ear
    Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy
    Fanfarlo - Reservior
    Family of the Year - Songbook
    The Middle East - The Recordings of the Middle East
    Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
    Echo & The Bunnymen - The Fountain
    The Sun - Don't Let Your Baby Have All The Fun
    Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
    Foreign Born - Person To Person
    Real Estate - Real Estate
    Elephantom - Swim. Towards The Sun
    Wiretree - Luck
    Them Crooked Vultures - s/t debut
    Volcano Choir - Unmap
    Au Revoir Simone - Still Night,Still Light
    Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
    The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control
    Ramona Falls - Intuit
    Holiday Shores - Columbus'd The Whim
    Why? - Eskimo Snow
    Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
    Cage The Elephant - Cage The Elephant
    The Dead Weather - Horehound
    Portugal The Man - The Satantic Satanist
    Port O'Brien - Threadbare
    Broken Records - Until The Earth Begins To Part
    Headlights - Wildlife
    Bango or Freakout - Upside Down EP
    The Clean - Mister Pop
    Sin Fang Bous - Clangour
    Passion Pit - Manners
    The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
    Brazos - Phosphorescent Blues
    Spring Tigers - Spring Tigers EP
    Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom
    The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love
    Bodies Of Work - Flyers
    The XX - XX
    The Black Hollies - Softly Towards The Light
    Sonic Youth - The Eternal Youth
    Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
    Modest Mouse - No One's First and You're Next
    Generationals - Con Law
    BLK JKS - After Robots
    White Denim - Fits/Exposion
    Rodrigo y Gabriella - 11:11
    Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
    Atlas Sound - Logos
    The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
    Califone - All of My Friends Are Funeral Singers
    Taken By Trees - East of Eden
    Chet - Chelsea Silver, Please Come
    Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young
    Washed Out - Life of Leisure
    Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
    Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day
    The Clientele - Bonfires of Heath
    Iron & Wine - Around The Well
    Pete Doherty - Grace/Wastelands
    It Hugs Back - Inside Your Guitar
    Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing
    Conor Oberst & The Mustic Valley Band - Outer South
    Paper Route - Absence
    Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
    Throw Me The Statue - Creaturesque
    The Dodos - Time To Die
    Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
    M. Ward - Hold Time
    Deastro - Moondagger
    The Decemberists - Hazards of Love
    Matt & Kim - Grand
    The Antlers - Hospice
    Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
    The Brakes - Touchdown
    Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
    Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
    Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
    Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
    Frightened Rabbit - Quietly Now
    We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
    The Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited
    A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar
    Pet Lions - Soft Right
    Paramore - Brand New Eyes
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Beware
    Bishop Allen - Grrr
    Cage The Elephant - Cage The Elephant
    Birds of Avalon - Uncanny Valley
    Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
    Ben Kweller - Changing Horses
    The Acorn - Heron Act
    The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead
    AC Newman - Get Guilty
    Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
    Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen
    Beirut - March of the Zapotec & Realpeople: Holland
    The Most Serene Republic - And The Ever Expanding Universe
    Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
    Woodpigeon - Treasury Library Canada
    Wye Oak - The Knot
    Vica Voce - Rose City
    Pomegranates - Everyone, Come Outside!
    Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone
    Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
    Akron/Family - Set Em Wild, Set Em Free
    Lemon Sun - Run With the Faithless
    Eels - Hombre Lobo
    Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band
    Mellow Down Easy - Cosmisutra
    The Mary Onettes - Dare EP
    Odawas - The Blue Depths
    The Veils - Sun Gangs
    Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
    White Rabbits - It's Frightening
    Loney Dear - Dear John
    The Lonely Forest - We Sing The Body Electric
    The Uglysuit - self-titled debut
    Handsome Furs - Face Control
    Vampire Hands - Me & You Cherry Red/Cuz It's a Beach Funeral


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