If you are the kind of person who loves Death Cab For A Cutie, Ryan Adams or the mellower side of Dashboard Confessional then put this album on, turn up the volume and wallow to your hearts content!
First track enigmatically named ‘The Crane Wife pt 3’ (parts 1 & 2 come later). It’s a gentle and apt introduction to the rest of the album.
The curve ball is track 2, its full title ‘The Island; Come and See/The Landlord’s Daughter/You’ll not feel the…’ is a mouthful alone but at a whopping 12 minutes long the track is an earful too. Effectively 3 songs just rolled into one the listener will first experience The Island, a slightly Pink Floyd style instrumental, the next part is Come and See, frankly a little depressing. The Landlord’s Daughter is pacier, a jingly jangly keyboard runs throughout and Meloy’s voice becomes a good few octaves higher.
The last part goes back to the original melancholic feel. While it could just as easily be 3 separate songs, the fact that it has been amalgamated into 1 is a fair trick and gives it a marginal unique selling point
‘The Perfect Crime no2’ is a lovely track, running along at a merry pace, it is encapsulates the refreshing and sweet sounds of The Decemberists, and is probably my favourite track. ‘When the War Comes’ sees The Decemberists head down a rockier road, the guitars are louder and heavier and energy is pushed at you rather than slowly limping towards you. Generally most tracks are far from chipper but what they lack in 'chip' is more than made up for with soul.
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Meloy’s talent as a songwriter is evident – songs are intelligent and inventive, even the albums title has a story behind it, based on a Japanese folk tale, it’s that all too familiar tale of a man falling in love with a woman who is actually a crane! While no one could call this album lively it is an approachable example of folk rock – the imaginative lyrics intertwine and compliment the soft music and although occasionally sleep inducing it is overall gratifying.
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