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'The Crane Wife,' the new album by indie-rock band The Decemberists, was released earlier this month. |
If Death Cab for Cutie's spaced-out keyboards make them the Trekkies of the indie-rock world, The Decemberists are its farbs.
A farb, for those unfamiliar with the term, is what hard-core Civil War re-enactors call their more casual counterparts.
In a way, the label perfectly fits the Portland, Ore.-based quintet, whose latest album Rolling Stone magazine recently described as "[t]he catchiest Civil War-era folk-rock tunes of the year."
"The Crane Wife" is brimming with storytelling songs such as "Yankee Bayonet," a duet between a soldier and his sweetheart that includes lines like, "But O did you see all the dead of Manassas/ All the bellies and the bones and the bile?"
But don't expect to find organist and accordion player Jenny Conlee touring the battlefields at Manassas or Fredericksburg in between the band's two sold-out gigs this Sunday and Monday at Washington's 9:30 Club.
"My plan was to go to the Smithsonian," she said. "I've never been, and I hear that they have a great Native American exhibit there, which I will be checking out for sure."
The Decemberists (whose name is derived, at least in part, from a group of 19th-century Russian revolutionaries) have earned a reputation among fans as an intellectual band, drawing on obscure themes, outlandish fashion and a grandiose lexicon--all of which befit the orchestral quality of their playing.
With the buzz surrounding "The Crane Wife," their major-label debut on Capitol Records, and the monthlong tour promoting the album, the band is also sure to pick up some new fans.
Listeners who don't immediately get frontman Colin Meloy's lofty lyrics shouldn't be disconcerted, said Conlee.
"Sometimes I have to go ask Colin exactly what his intentions are for songs I don't understand, what his ideas are. You don't necessarily always know someone's intentions."
After releasing three full-length CDs and an EP on the Kill Rock Stars label, signing with Capitol was an important step for the five-year-old band's growth, said Conlee.
"We felt like we wanted to play for a larger audience, and the contract was so wide open in terms of, like, we could be free to do whatever we wanted to do, basically."
The band is signed on to do two more albums with Capitol. "It's a great situation," said Conlee. "It's a secure situation."
The move has certainly made things easier for Conlee, who used to give piano lessons to make ends meet.
"When you tour, it's really hard to keep a piano studio going, because you're unable to give the proper recitals and stuff that you need, and the kids need to have some kind of routine. To practice for three weeks and then me being gone for six, some may stop practicing."
In spite of their busy touring schedule, The Decemberists have formed a community of sorts with some of the other up-and-coming bands from the Pacific Northwest scene, Conlee said.
"The Shins and Death Cab and us, we tend do a lot of festivals and shows together, and it's become a fun thing to, like, hook up with them."
The band's close ties to Death Cab for Cutie don't end there. Chris Walla, Death Cab's guitarist and jack-of-all-trades, co-produced "The Crane Wife" and two previous releases.
"He's been working with us for a while, and he's kind of got our sound. He likes it; he's interested in experimenting, which we like; doesn't take himself too seriously, which is great; and gives us room."
Perhaps Conlee, who's been known to carry a plush Chewbacca doll on the band's tour bus, might align herself more with the Trekkies of the music world than with the farbs.
But she's happy to let listeners judge The Decemberists' music themselves.
"Everyone tries to understand as best they can, and if they don't, whatever--it's up to their own devices to try and figure that out."
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The Decemberists will play the 9:30 Club in Washington Oct. 29 and 30. The shows are sold out. |
