Decemberists Discography: Part 4: The Crane Wife

So up until this point, the band was releasing their albums through indie labels, which makes sense; major labels usually don't warm to overly theatrical and eccentric folk bands (unless you're Edward Sharp). So it came as a surprise when EMI of all labels recruited The Decemberists for their fourth full album, The Crane Wife. Even more so when you consider that this album boasts the two longest tracks that the band has ever recorded, and even boasts a loose concept that strings the tracks together, though it's more off a thematic concept than an actual story thread (the band would save that for later).

However, aside from being the band's first major label outing, I have to say that Crane Wife is just as quirky and geeky as the band's previous three, though the production is a lot smoother. As for the two long form tracks on the album, (them being "The Island" which is cleverly broken up into four smaller "movements" and the three part title track) both turn out to be some of the strongest material on the entire album; especially the title track medley, which is probably my favorite long form song the band has ever done.

Once you look past the major label and the twelve minute "monsters" you will find the band's most accessible and poppy album to date, complete with all of the storytelling and dramatic characters that filled the liner notes of albums like Picaresque. 

For instance, there is the grief ridden "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)" which tells the story of a Civil War soldier who talks to his former lover from beyond the grave, and the tragic love of the following track "O Valencia!" which was actually the very first song I'd ever heard from The Decemberists.

Further down the track list we get a song about a gang of killers that stalk the night, looking for small children ("Shankill Butchers"), one about the joys of summer ("Summersong")  and even a track that, like "16 Military Wives" from the last album, seems to be pointing a finger at the current state of war and the way the government handles it. But I'd be remiss to forget the true oddity of The Crane Wife, the funky, Pink Floyd indebted "The Perfect Crime #2". Now I've seen some publications straight-up attack this track for being terrible, or completely out of character; however, I think the band uses a new sound to set a mood, and the story that the lyrics tell fit perfectly with the slinky bass line and agile drum playing that this song presents.

The album finishes strong with the aforementioned title track medley (parts 1&2) and slides in to the closer "Sons & Daughters" which ends the album off on a positive note, something that was new for the band at the time.

In conclusion, I rank The Crane Wife pretty high in the grand scheme of the band's catalogue; it just has so many good songs, and while being a longer album for the band, I still find it incredibly easy to go all the way through it every time I listen to it.

9.5/10