The Decemberists
The King Is Dead
Capitol Records

With the Decemberists’ 2009 release The Hazards of Love, frontman Colin Meloy got grandiosely geeky, crafting a rock opera with a peculiar narrative: A woman declares a shape-shifter her one true love, dodges the fury of a jealous fairy queen and gets abducted by a villain known only as “the rake.” Throw in some morbid bits on child murder and the record begins to toe the line between ambition and absurdity.

Thankfully, on the album’s follow-up, The King Is Dead, Meloy and the rest of the Portland-based gang break down the bravado and start anew, reveling in the simplicity of American folk.

Nearly all of the songs are kept under the five-minute mark, and there are no great tales spanning multiple tracks. In other words, it’s sort of like the Decemberists for Dummies: The album compresses Meloy’s knack for verbose storytelling with the band’s typical eccentric instruments (pedal steel, accordi- on, bouzouki) in a clearer, more listenable fashion.

First single “Down by The Water” fits the formula to a T: A catchy chorus (featuring the vocals of bluegrass singer Gillian Welch) backs uplifting harmonicas, airy acoustic guitars and tambourine shakes, as Meloy tells of “an ancient riverbed … where all our follies are led.”

“Dear Avery” is reminiscent of an old-school country love song — a departure from the band’s Anglo-folk roots — incorporating the genre’s slide guitars, feisty fiddles and swaying melodies. Meloy’s lyrics may have you reaching for your dictionary
at times, but with such tranquil melodies, you’ll be quick to forgive.

With The King Is Dead, the Decemberists are alive and rejuvenated, though lacking some of the literary weight that the band is notorious for. But with these more compact ver- sions of the epic Hazards Of Love ballads, the Decemberists finally have a new story worth singing along to. (7/10)