Pop artists saying things. In most cases, this should either be outlawed or completely ignored. People as different as Paul Weller, Dua Lipa and Efrim Menuck all repeating the same 'Free Palestine!' inanity without realising that in the current climate this is akin to supporting a death cult (namely, Hamas) whose ultimate goal is to destroy a whole nation (namely, Jews). Thank God for Johnny Greenwood.
While Colin Meloy of The Decemberists had nothing to say on the war between Israel and Hamas (which is for the better), he went for an easy target. While answering a question of who he would like to collaborate with, he mentioned Morrissey and offered this piece of cowardly bullshit: "It would not [be great] culturally to work with him now for the damage that he’s done to his own reputation. And, maybe I shouldn’t want to, I think maybe he would be an unpleasant person to work with. So I’m of two minds about it." I mean, what the fuck.
Still, there is a certain joy to the fact that As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (a very consolatory title, no doubt) is Colin Meloy's best work in at least fifteen years. The record proves, yet again, what I have always believed to be true: artist and their art are not one and the same.
And so Colin Meloy got it right: this is one of the Decemberists' greatest albums. Not least because, being a double LP, it is extremely representative. Essentially, you get four sides that display the full skill set of Meloy the songwriter. There are upbeat chamber pop numbers (mostly side one) and charming folk ballads (mostly side two) with a little bit of country-ish and experimental stuff thrown in for good measure. There is even a side-long folk-prog epic that brings the whole thing to a brilliant, and very effective, end. There are no particular letdowns here. Colin Meloy's voice has not changed (still boyish, still engaging) and he can still write an unforgettable pop hook.
The Decemberists are the sort of band you get tired of after some time. When you first discover them, they sound like the best thing in the world (it is hard not to get lost in albums such as Picaresque and Castaways and Cutouts). Then, at some point, the formula starts to get a bit grating and you stop. To come back later on, for small chunks of indie folk / chamber pop pleasure that Colin Meloy is so very good at. Which is all to say... I really do not know whether this time the album is really as good as all that or I am just feeling sentimental.
