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The Decemberists
Featuring Colin Meloy
 The
Decemberists began modestly enough in the fall of 2000 when erstwhile
Missoulian Colin Meloy began assembling a cast of characters to inhabit
and perform around his ponderous song catalogue. A chance meeting led
him to a Mr. Ezra Holbrook, who, while carrying on a respectable solo
singer songwriter career of his own, had had the chance over the years
to learn a thing or two on the drumkit in a number of local outfits
and thereby afforded himself that dilettante lifestyle of which so many
of us can only dream: life without a day job. Serendipity would have
it that they both enjoyed a good Elvis Costello record-listen from time
to time and a musical kinship was born. Owing again to chance, this
unlikely pair fell into the company of a certain Mr. Nate Query, who
played the upright bass, and the Mam'selle Jenny Conlee, who happened
to be a classically trained pianist with a penchant for an accordion
trill or two. Adopting the moniker of the Decemberists, the quartet
quickly endeared themselves to critics and fans alike with their sweet
melodic pop sensibilities and Meloy's bookish plangent lyrical pennings.
Drawing comparisons to Belle and Sebastian (but a bit dirtier) and Neutral
Milk Hotel (but quite a bit more poppy), their lovable brand of pop
earnestly explores exotic storylines with uncanny characters and bookish
vernacular: all seersuckers and suspenders, love and folly, bandits
and legionnaires.
Having finally finalized
their fetching line-up with the addition of pedal steel and theremin
player Chris Funk, the group recorded a five song ep (for which the
liner notes are here made available) and are now in the process of recording
their first full length record, which is to be available from Hush Records
in May of 2002.
www.decemberists.com
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