Heave Media

Listen to These Hazards

Rock opera or not, The Decemberists know how to tell one entertaining, fucked-up story.

The Decemberists

The Hazards of Love

Released on Mar 24, 2009

Portland doesn’t seem like an extremely cinematic place. Sure, it’s a haven for indie music fans, but as a breeding ground for sweeping love stories and evil forest queens? Not so much. Apparently, The Decemberists found some kind of inspiration from their hometown, because their fifth release is the most far-reaching yet—both musically and lyrically.

Anyone who listens to The Decemberists knows just how insane that statement is—this is the band that’s sung about Japanese folklore, and made it somewhat catchy. So, saying that The Hazards of Love tops that in eccentricity is setting up quite a few expectations. While this project does fail on some counts, Meloy and Co.’s vision is an admirable one that manages to shine through on most of the soaring, ambitious tracks.

Let’s get the pure criticism out of the way first. Outrightly, there are two songs on this album that have no redeeming qualities. “Prelude” and “Isn’t it a Lovely Night.” Perhaps it’s pointless to mention just how terrible "Prelude" is, but it really is awful. The first few minutes are silence, and then there’s some inoffensive instrumentation near the end to segue into “Hazards of Love 1.” It’s entirely unnecessary, and honestly doesn’t do much for the listener in terms of preparation. “Isn’t it a Lovely Night” is one of the worst uses of accordions that I’ve heard yet. Normally, the use of an accordion is a welcome one, but in this case, it sounds campy and ridiculous. Then, there are the vocals. Most of the female vocals on this album are spectacular, but on this track, the interplay between Meloy and his lady sounds contrived.

Quick sidenote: as far as the actual “opera” part of the album—the epic love story—goes, it is a little difficult to follow. If you really want to get the whole story, you’ll have to sit with the album for a few complete listens before it starts to make sense. However, there are plenty of songs to enjoy for their sheer musicality while you’re sorting out the love triangle between William (Meloy), Margaret (Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond), and the forest queen (Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond).

Like I mentioned, the female vocals on the album are nearly flawless. Both Worden and Stark have unique tones that are perfectly suited to their “characters,” and each have standout tracks. Stark is at her best with Meloy on “Won’t Want for Love” and “The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All).” Her voice has a remarkably clear and innocent sound, which provides Margaret with an interesting characterization.

If anything, it’s a great contrast to Worden’s smokier, but equally stunning tones. She gets a few more of the gritty rock songs, like “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid” and “The Queen’s Rebuke/Crossing.” While all of the tracks feature great instrumentation as well as vocals, those two are the highlights for guitar lovers.

Then, we have Meloy’s vocals. It’s difficult to describe just how fantastic his voice sounds to me. I understand how some people can dislike it, and in turn, hate The Decemberists, but he’s got such a great range that should at least be respected by everyone who hears it. While his female additions certainly hold their own, his soaring voice is the real treat on this convoluted, worthy album.

Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Mar 31, 2009 @ 6:30 am