The Hawk

Issue date: 11/17/06 Section: Entertainment

Meloy's newest effort not clouded by new label.

There's something very poignant about an indie band signing with a major label. It makes one think of growing up, moving from high school to college, and all the growing pains of a transition. When The Decemberists' front man Colin Meloy first announced the band's acquisition by Capital Records, many were at least a little bit surprised. The Decemberists aren't exactly the most accessible band, and certainly not the most commercial. Their story-telling lyrics, Hammond organs, and accordions were not usually the cornerstones of a major label band, but definitely the cornerstones of The Decemberists.

Colin Meloy, et al., do not abandon any of their roots or their formulas for success on The Crane Wife, but the results are a bit different than one might expect. The title comes from a Japanese folk tale which inspired the three Crane Wife tracks on the album. Meloy's lyrics-always closer to folk than many want to admit-traverse literature and history, and tell stories dictated by fate; irreconcilable lovers and soldiers populate most of the tracks.

Anchoring the album is the 12-minute epic, "The Island," a retelling of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." It is the second track on the album and finds the volume turned up and the chords and beats heavy. Early on, the feel of "The Island" announces Meloy's ambitions for project.

And there is the word that strikes at the heart of The Crane Wife: ambitious. Along with "The Island," there is an 11-minute sequence, "The Crane Wife 1 & 2," towards the close of the album. That's two tracks that combined take up more than a third of the album. In the case of "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" that length can really begin to wear on the song. Additionally, the remaining songs lack an immediately catchy tune, one that will stick in your head all day. There are certainly a few ("The Perfect Crime" comes to mind) that induce heavy foot-tapping, but nothing that comes close to replicating the bouncy ballads on Picaresque or Castaways and Cutouts.

Because of this, it's difficult to get an initial grasp on the album. In any event, it's definitely not the album to pick up for an introduction to The Decemberists. Undoubtedly, fans of their entire output will find much to like in The Crane Wife, but it might take a bit longer for a final opinion to settle in. Some experiments, like "The Island," come off explosive and energetic, and more traditional tracks like "Summersong" reinforce the Decemberists' strength. Others, however, like the crane wife songs, seem to fall a bit flat. The metallic grinding of "When the War Came" may be more abrasive than many will expect-but expectations are what this album works against. Call them growing pains.

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