Rend your ventricles apart

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile, but then I put away the idea and then I bring it back. So now I'm finally writing it. I know The Decemberists are so in right now and playing big fests and all, and you should love 'em already, but if you haven't checked them out, go do so. Listening to their music reminds me of when I first got into Belle & Sebastian, just the melodies and the stories and how they fit together. Nothing gets me more than a song with a good story, but it's especially those moments when one little phrase says so much, or the writer manages to fit the words in a unique way to the melody and make it rhyme at the same time that makes me all weak at the knees. Some of the storytellers I love: Damien Jurado, Elliott Smith, Stuart Murdoch, Jeff Mangum, Conor Oberst, Colin Meloy... A few of these songwriters are described as "literary" for their way of drawing characters and history and old-fashioned words into the stories they tell. So I suppose a lifelong bookworm like myself has no hope but to fall for their songs. And the latest is The Decemberists. When I read a couple of reviews of their latest album, Picaresque, the reviewers were positive about the album, but they were pretty much saying it was because the songs dealt with more modern topics and contained less sea chanties and songs about chimney sweeps. But those are the songs I particularly love. The reviews groaned over the 8 minute+ "The Mariner's Revenge Song", but it is one of my favourite songs on the album. These songs create a whole mythology around the band. Another aspect that I love about them is the unique way Colin Meloy sings. Sure, it can be described as whiny, but I love it. It works, even on the quieter songs. I can't really describe it, but I love how a voice can be so comforting after getting to know it so well through songs. I haven't been listening to The Decemberists that long, but already the singer's voice is so comforting, and it is such a part of their music that it really is another instrument. For awhile, the only Decemberists song I knew was "Red Right Ankle" from their last album. It is still one of my favourite songs, period. It just breaks my heart every time. Go forth and find it.

Speaking of unique voices, there's a band gaining big word of mouth called Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I'm still gathering my opinion of the album as a whole, but there are definitely some brilliant tracks on there. And the singer's voice is very love-it-or-hate-it. I personally quite like it, but then they get compared to Neutral Milk Hotel for a reason. Though I think that at times on the Clap Your Hands album, he's a bit overdoing it, whereas with NMH, I always felt that anything really intense from Jeff Mangum was more out of pure emotion than anything else. Still, it's been interesting getting to know this album in the past couple of weeks, though I keep wondering if it'll grow into an album I really love, or if my interest will fade out with the hype they've gotten.