Decemberists - Picaresque (CD 2005)

After purchasing the masterpiece that is 'The Crane Wife' I had high hopes for The Decemberists' earlier offering, Picaresque. With the galloping beat of 'The Infata' opening into the fiddle-ridden tragedy of 'We Both Go Down Together' the beginning of the album is a gem. 'Eli, the Barrow Boy' is a wonderfully mellow tune underpinned by the band's characteristic ye-olde vocabulary and one of the high points of the entire record. For me the middle of the album dipped slightly, the songs don't seem to flow as well as those of 'The Crane Wife' but are still make for good listening. However from '16 Military Wives' onwards the album picks up speed, culminating in the epic sea shanty that is 'The Mariner's Revenge Song', 8 minutes and 45 seconds of pure folk gold. The album ends on 'Of Angels and Angles', a divinely soporific acoustic offering from front man Colin Meloy. All in all a fantastic album, the only reason it hasn't received the full five stars is the prior knowledge that The Decemberists can do even better!

Good album a return to form, well worth the money, unique style makes it a listener over and over. Though there are no genius tracks on the album such a chimbly sweep from other albums ther are a few good ones that stick out