The Decemberists

Literary types and romantics may well appreciate the belletristic Decemberists singer Colin Meloy. His imaginative, offbeat tales of love, death, and seafaring still abound on Picaresque, the Portland band's third full-length. Meloy's elegant lyricism ("From all atop the parapets blow a multitude of coronets / Melodies rhapsodical and fair!" he...

By Omar Sommereyns

April 7, 2005

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
            "component": "22004575",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
            "component": "22595215",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "Editor Picks",
            "component": "17482312",
            "insertPoint": "4",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18711090",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - 2x Rectangles Desktop, Tower on Mobile - Labeled",
            "component": "23181625",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18711090",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
            "component": "17720761",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          }
        ]

Literary types and romantics may well appreciate the belletristic Decemberists singer Colin Meloy. His imaginative, offbeat tales of love, death, and seafaring still abound on Picaresque, the Portland band's third full-length. Meloy's elegant lyricism ("From all atop the parapets blow a multitude of coronets / Melodies rhapsodical and fair!" he sings on "The Infanta," a track about a child monarch) meshes fluidly with his group's indie-pop sound (most notably on the folksy, accordion-driven "The Mariner's Revenge Song"). Despite the superior stylings of Meloy's lyrics, however, his voice, lackluster and quasi-monotonous, ultimately grows irksome and rather flat, failing the album as a whole.

Omar Sommereyns

A message from Music Editor Flor Franceschetti: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Miami's music, events and entertainment scenes.

Support Today