Heave Media

Decemberists Release New Album Art

Typically magisterial, Meloy and Friends are Back for More.

If you haven't already suffocated on the sheer amount of literary referencing and over-the-topness of The Decemberists, there's good news.  The Portland troubadors will release The Hazards of Love on March 24 (Capitol Records).  Colin Meloy will be leading the usual suspects on a tour of love's dangers along with a few friends making guest appearances: My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden, Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, the Spinanes' Rebecca Gates, and Robyn Hitchcock can all be heard, too. 

The cover art is a surprising departure for the band, simplistic and typographic, especially after the downright pompous-looking tracklist.  Alas, no tour dates yet.  But keep those tweed blazers sufficiently mussed (you know, not hobo-wrinkled, pick it up off the floor wrinkled), there's bound to be an extensive run around the country to back up this latest concept album.  It may be worth whatever price you've got to pay to see the NPR-adored Decemberists, in a recent press release some details unfurled: "[The Hazards of Love] tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came “to be living so easy and free”"

Posted by Mark Steffen on Jan 22, 2009 @ 5:30 pm