Decemberist

Album: The Hazards of Love
Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: March 17, 2009
Stars: 5
Skippable Tracks: Zero

This album is a perfect example of why I love to listen to an album from start to finish with no breaks. It was love at first listen, and I think it feels the same way towards me too; so that’s awesome.
The album was released March 17th, and I have listened to it straight through about ten times by now. I believe the band’s original plan was to make this album into a musical, but later decided that it was not going to work out. This amazingly artistic masterpiece is arranged in a way that a love story develops from the first track to the last, taking the listener through many different genres of music. Even the tracks become characters, re-appearing throughout the story.
There are probably only a couple of tracks that can be played on their own, so I’m posting the complete album below. Put aside one hour to listen to the tracks and try to follow the story. It begins with a short interlude that sets the mood; it’s dark, mysterious, and intriguing. After the interlude a folkie song begins to play introducing the main characters William and Margaret. They toss in some power cords on the next track, followed by some baroque music, some riffs right out of Black Mountain, and so on.
I can only imagine how much work it took the band to put together something like this, so it is being labeled a masterpiece on my part. William and Margaret’s relationship develops throughout the album, and the music perfectly compliments this.
The best Album released this year, and may possibly be one of the top 5 albums of 2009 according to Smigs Reviews.

The Hazards of Love