Review: The Decemberists – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again

The Decemberists’ ninth album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again revisits the traditional Americana sound of The King is Dead, with a few twists.

 

The Decemberists are typically known more for their quirks as a folk rock band than for playing folk music itself. After all, they’re the band whose back catalog includes instruments ranging from the accordion to the hurdy-gurdy, and even pulled off writing sea shanties. They also have a knack for throwing historical references and esoteric vocabulary into their songs, cementing their uniqueness among other indie folk acts.

This is what made the Decemberists’ 2011 album The King is Dead stand out – it was a fairly straightforward take on folk music and a heartland American sound that toned down the theatrics in favor of good ol’ fashioned acoustic guitar and harmonica. After returning to their quirky ways for their next two albums, the band’s ninth album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again revisits this traditional Americana sound, with a few twists.

Given that the Decemberists have done gimmick-free folk before, it should come as no surprise that significant parts of As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again will remind you quite a bit of The King is Dead. For example, “The Reapers” has a traditional Celtic-sounding melody akin to The King is Dead’s “Rox in the Box, but “The Reapers” makes the wise choice to add flute accompaniment. The scrappy and lo-fi “Born to the Morning” makes prominent use of harmonica, the centerpiece of many tracks on The King is Dead. The song “William Fitzwilliam” mixes acoustic strumming with multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk taking up a pedal steel guitar to give it some country bonafides, similar to the role “Rise to Me” had on The King is Dead. However, the best use of pedal steel guitar comes one track earlier on the country rocker “Long White Veil,” one of the band’s strongest tracks in years. It even has some very Decemberists lyrics like “And how when she fell in with me, I stole her from the canneries/We’d pitch along the harborside/In our wind-filled sails.”

Other parts of As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again echo from further back in the Decemberists’ catalog. “Don’t Go to the Woods” is an ominous-sounding cautionary song that brings “Shankill Butchers” from 2006’s The Crane Wife to mind, and is one of the few tracks that includes Jenny Conlee’s signature accordion playing. “The Black Maria” follows with a similarly ominous theme, this time about a police wagon in an autocratic state, but the tonal similarity makes it feel a little overdone. “All I Want Is You” is a tender, minimalist love song in the vein of “Red Right Ankle” from 2003’s Her Majesty, the Decemberists or “Of Angels and Angles” from 2005’s Picaresque. However, “All I Want Is You” is the most sincere and direct of them all. Since the Decemberists have been around for over two decades now, it’s only natural to expect some reappearances of their past sounds.

That said, the most captivating parts of As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again come when the Decemberists show they’re capable of trying something entirely new. The second track “Oh No!” blends swing instrumentation with a Latin beat, earning comparisons to the 90s swing revival group Squirrel Nut Zippers from multiple reviewers. Some fans may find it too campy, but the Decemberists have hardly eschewed camp before. Partially as a case in point, the song “America Made Me” is a horn-laden tune with an incredibly bouncy beat that sounds like a marching band. Its lyrical exploration of singer Colin Meloy’s ambivalent relationship to his home country had me expecting a reprise of the single “16 Military Wives” from Picaresque, but “America Made Me” is a more extravagant affair all its own.

Of course, the biggest standout and showstopper moment on As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again is the album’s 19-plus minute closing track, “Joan in the Garden.” The song is Meloy’s meditation on the idea of Joan of Arc and wanting “to make my own version of Joan.” It starts as a peaceful and steady 90s-ish rock song. However, the tone gets dramatically darker about five minutes in, and just a couple minutes later becomes a much heavier song that epitomizes doom and gloom. About halfway through, this reaches a climax as Meloy just shouts “Hosanna!” repeatedly, and what follows can only be described as the mother of all false endings. For a solid six minutes, the song devolves into nothing but ambient guitar squeals and droning, like something you’d expect from Godpseed You! Black Emperor, all before heavy and defiant electric guitar riffs reemerge to play the band off for the song’s final three minutes. The band have made their fair share of long tracks before, usually subdivided into multiple parts or movements, but haven’t done anything remotely like “Joan in the Garden.” I have to imagine this song would absolutely kill live, and it alone makes As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again worth checking out.

After the Decemberists’ eighth album I’ll Be Your Girl took had some serious swings and misses, you’ll be glad that the band’s ambitions haven’t been stunted on As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. Its similarity to The King is Dead might put off fans who dislike the band’s simpler folk songs, and there are some tracks that are a little too cut and dry, like “Burial Ground” and “Tell Me What’s On Your Mind.” This aside, anyone who has enjoyed the Decemberists before should thoroughly enjoy As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again as it combines the expected grandiosity and historical lyrics (see “William Fitzwilliam”) with top-tier songwriting. If nothing else, “Joan in the Garden” is might be one of the most interesting things you hear all year.

Rating: 7.5/10