The Decemberists: Down by the Water

Well here's some news, and no mistake. The Decemberists spent the early part of this year whipping up a new album, and now its release is finally on the horizon. The due date for the LP, to be called The King is Dead, is slated for mid January next year, and the band are doing their best to curry favour with their fans by releasing one track as a free download. You can get your grubby paws on track six - Down by the Water - by signing up to their mailing list on their website (or just download it below, if you're feeling lazy).

First things first, this song is not a cover of either PJ Harvey or The Drums; it's completely new. And, in what is becoming de rigueur for the Decemberists lately, the list of collaborators for this single is rather impressive. BVs are provided courtesy of alt. country doyen Gillian Welch, and there's the unmistakable twang of Peter Buck's twelve string plastered all over this track. So the pedigree for this release is pretty darned mighty, but is it actually any good?

Following the might and majesty of 2006's The Crane Wife, expectations were high for the next Decemberists record. Their last three LPs had all been better than their predecessors, so The Hazarads of Love was an odds-on hit. Sadly that record was ghastly - I'm a huge Decemberists fan, and had lapped up pretty much everything they had released up until that point (I even quite enjoyed the bloated and self-indulgent long-form EP, The Tain) but Hazards... was just a bridge too far. I grew up on a diet of my dad's prog collection, so I'm more amenable than most to concept albums, but that record and I never saw eye to eye, and since then I've contented myself with the Decemberists' excellent back catalogue and cast thoughts of their future escapades from my mind. Despite all that, though, at the first whiff of a new Decemberists album I felt my pulse quicken and the unmistakable feeling of nervous excitement began coursing through my veins.

To be honest, Down by the Water hasn't done anything to heighten my anticipation, but equally it hasn't done anything to diminish it either. It's standard fare for the band; slightly folky country-rock with a distinct americana lilt to it, and Colin Meloy seems to be in fine fettle vocal-wise. It kicks off with some harmonica - which by rights should be the first instrument up against the wall when the revolution comes - and while it's nice to hear some REM guitaring, Buck's contributions could do with being a little lower in the mix. But despite the downsides, Down by the Water still delivers as a song, and you never know; come the new year _The King is Dead _could well surprise us all.

The Decemberists - Down by the Water [audio //www.bearfacedrecords.com/EbMBlog_mp3s/TheDecemberists/TheDecemberists_DownByTheWater.mp3]