Loading...
71 view(s)
The Decemberists have a track record for blending storytelling and music into a seamless medium. They continue that record with the release of What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. The new album is just under an hour of indie-folk rock that is guaranteed to draw listeners into their storybook. Its aesthetically pleasing, lyrically satisfying, and stress relieving indie-folk.
What a Terrible World opens well with the track The Singer Addresses His Audience. Over the five minute length of the opening track, The Decemberists traverse from their signature loftiness to a full bodied song. It covers a lot of ground, and ultimately leaves the listener with the sense that they’ve stepped into something different, which is perfect because the listener has.
Over the following thirteen tracks the listener is treated to what essentially is a series of vignettes. Most notably the listener will hear the tale of Limber Jack in the track Easy Come Easy Go. In the song Limber Jack falls and breaks his back which ultimately kills him. The song is allegorical in a sense and gives more meaning to the line ‘Cause you never really know when the whistles gonna blow, you never really know, easy come easy go’. Its a chilling reminder that life is a fragile thing, and can be taken away in an instant given the wrong circumstance. It’s this wonderful storytelling that makes The Decemberists what they are, and makes What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World a satisfying hour of listening.
The Lake Song - Single from What a Beautiful World, What a Terrible World
Closing out this satisfying album is the track A Beginning Story. The perplexing title leads the listener to think that perhaps The Decemberists are just a little weird, and are perhaps being a touch meta, however if the track is listened in the context of having listened to a series of stories the song makes more sense. There is a tool in storytelling where after we follow a character on their adventure, we find them back where they started. In the Hero’s Journey we call this The Return. The challenges have been met, the characters have grown, and now we leave them where they started, albeit they are changed from their trip. Often we are left the satisfying feeling that the adventurer will conquer more mountains in their future, and we trust that they now have the tools necessary to do so. A Beginning Story could be seen as The Return of What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. As the album closes the listener has heard a series of stories, and now as the listener is dropped back off on their front porch, they are treated to a reminder that the ending of any story is the beginning of a new one.
Kingston 7-in-1 Vinyl Record Player
