The Hazards of Love, the latest album from The Decemberists has been dubbed a concept album by some, but really functions as one continuous piece of music as opposed to it's 17 tracks. The album flows from one song to the next with many transitions being indistinguishable unless you're specifically looking for them.The album features four pieces of music dubbed the "The Hazards of Love" parts one through four which share similar musical themes. All of the songs share a common theme of love and the hazards of it (imagine that). Parts of piece "The Wanting Comes In Waves" is reminiscent of the grandeur of Arcade Fire.
Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond and Shara Warden of My Brightest Diamond gives the album a feminine point of view on a number of tracks on the album. Their vocals give are a stark contrast to Colin Meloy's nasally sound. The male and female back and forth is similar to the back and forth between Win Butler and Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire.
The Hazards of Love is a solid album and is much stronger overall than their last album The Crane Wife. This is a band upping their game from record to record. The album should play well live too.
Speaking of live, the band will be playing the album live from beginning to end on their upcoming tour which stops in Raleigh on June 4 at Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are still available here. Check out the rest of the band's tour dates here.
1 comment:
It's worth noting that when The Decemberists come to Raleigh, the tour format is this:
* The Hazards of Love - start to finish
* Intermission
* Selected Favorites
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