The Decemberists - The King is Dead

My first real taste, or commitment anyway with these guys. They were way overplayed on WRUV a few years ago and they annoyed me, but Colin Meloy keeps popping up and I love his stuff on the last Minus 5 records, so I thought this was worth a shot. Not a bad record, probably not $28 worth (bought on vinyl at Exile), but a solid effort that will get multiple spins. I like how they tone down the Sea Shanty thing and up the Americana pop quotient, and thankfully Norah Jones doesn't make an appearance. It's a funny musc business that this is the #1 album in the land.