The Decemberists’ sixth studio album, The King Is Dead, displays a different style than previous albums. After deciding to take off time from touring in 2009, The Decemberists decided to focus on its new album. In the Spring 2010, the band began six weeks of recording spent in a barn at Pendarvis Farm near Portland, Ore.
Frontman, Colin Meloy in an article with NPR said, “The King Is Dead will be toned down. However, creating a simpler album was more complex than what we thought.”
While doing this, The Decemberists lost some unique qualities, such as its songs’ complex melodies. The Decemberists have always held a perfect harmony throughout songs, but The King Is Dead seems to focus on two instruments harmonizing together instead of the band in unison.
For the third time, the band teamed up with one of Paste Magazine’s top 10 producers of the decade, Tucker Martine. Martine’s engineering capabilities seem to match perfectly with artists who specialize in folk, such as Laura Veirs and Sufjan Stevens. Throughout the album, one could see how Martine brought focus on the guitars. The engineering also seems to brighten up the album.
Out of the many genres The Decemberists seem to fall into, the band displays more elements toward alternative country.
Jenny Conlee’s rhythms on the piano throughout the album possess a honky tonk tone. Like in other songs in which she played accordion, Conlee helped contribute to the country feel in “Rox in a Box.” One would feel as though it were modern square dance. “Don’t Carry it All,” the album’s opening song, sounds like a symphony of the harmonica in Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels” mixed with the Avett Brothers.
Even though the album’s title pays homage to The Smith’s The Queen Is Dead, the album’s primary focus was towards R.E.M., one of Martine’s clients. The tone of lyrics throughout the album mirrors R.E.M. This can be heard through the lyrics “and all that remains is the arms of the angels,” in “Calamity Song.” Even though an homage to R.E.M, the album did not display the band’s extensive musical abilities. The vocals and rhythms match R.E.M’s elements, but the style was not the band’s usual songs. Chris Funk’s drumming, mainly with the cymbals, and Chris Funk’s toned-down guitar made “Down by the Water” the perfect tribute to R.E.M.
Out of all of the elements in the album, the lyrics were the most outstanding. One could say that certain songs were influenced by different genres. “Rise to Me” depicts a modern version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” with the slide guitar. Meloy directs a message to his son, Henry, explaining that distance between them while touring can be quite difficult.
Although the band spent a lot of time making the album, The Decemberists showcase a different side to its music. Even though they came up with excellent songs, the album should not have been toned down as much.