(Music) First Impression - The Decemberists: "The Crane Wife"

Whoah!

It's a word that can mean many things, depending on the context in which it is used. As of right now, I'm not sure what it means right now. I just finished listening to The Decemberists' upcoming album "The Crane Wife" and I must say that I am impressed.

For their first 3 albums, The Decemberists put their albums out on the Kill Rock Stars label. Now that they are rock stars, they switched over to Capitol and every change you would expect a band like The Decemberists to make with a major label debut have happened. Long gone are the crazy sailor songs, or songs about uncles holding their entrails in their hands. "The Crane Wife" is a much more audience friendly album, but that's not to say it's bad. In fact. I'm gonna go ahead and say that this is their best album to date!

The reason for this is simple: it's accessible. Whereas their first three albums contained some great songs, each album seemed like it was more of a vessel for 2 or three songs than a complete work. This problem has been solved this time around. These songs are great. It's pop rock done Decemberists style, and I couldn't be happier.

Look out for a full review when the album releases next month!