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Missed Out Music

Where was Colin Meloy before The Decemberists?

Oh the sweet sounds of Colin Meloy – arguably the best voice to soundtrack the changing trees. Meloy, normally the Decemberists’ front man, has a knack for writing stories of death, destruction and man-eating whales. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who can use imagery as well as Meloy.

Long before we had the “Mariner’s Revenge Song,? however, Meloy fronted a band called Tarkio. This alt-country band formed in 1996 – and broke up in 1999. As the Decemberists grew in popularity, so did the demand for some of Tarkio’s stuff to be released. In 2006, Kill Rock Stars put out Omnibus, a double disc set that features Meloy and the rest of Tarkio in all of their fiddling goodness.

The ghost of Tarkio (speaking of which – Tarkio got their name from a memory of Meloy’s childhood. Apparently, Tarkio was a haunted town not too far away from Meloy’s home as a kid) lives on in the Decemberists. Meloy’s approach to song writing hasn’t changed much, if at all.

You could say that this band is “Decemberists Lite,? but there are points of brilliance on Omnibus that make you wonder how far Tarkio could have gone if Meloy had stuck with it. Take a listen to “Keeping Me Awake? below.

Tarkio – Keeping Me Awake [MP3]

Posted by Wes Soltis on Oct 05, 2007 @ 12:00 am