The Hazards of Love
The Decemberists
Score:64
Reviewer: Justin Pearsall
Label: Capitol (USA & Australia), Rough Trade (UK)
Reviewed: Apr 6th '09, Released:2009
In five albums, the Decemberists have moved from small label, eccentric folk band to major label rock operas. It’s a big jump and at times The Hazards of Love seems exactly that. At 17 songs and with multiple genres, numerous musical reprises, and a theme about a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by her lover – a shape-shifting animal named William – it is certainly ambitious. But in so consciously branching out there is a sense that these bigger, badder and bolder Decemberists have engulfed their former selves, losing some of the small band magic along the way.
The album opens promisingly enough with a short organ intro (‘Prelude’) followed by the dark and ambient ‘The Hazards of Love 1’. This track plays to the Decemberists’ strengths, leaving room for Colin Meloy’s narration and highlighting the band’s ability to follow and embellish the mood and characters that Meloy creates. However, The Hazards of Love too often pushes the band away from the sound that they seem most suited for. While the metal imitations on ‘A Bower Scene’ and ‘The Queen’s Rebuke’, and the heavy riffing of ‘Repaid’ serve Meloy’s darker message, they don’t have the natural charm that is such an appealing part of The Decemberists’ makeup.
Thankfully, for most misplaced moments there is something of value to counter. The first half of the two-part song ‘The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid’ is the album’s highlight. A mixture of the melancholic, minimalist folk that Meloy has made his own, its rousing chorus is successfully reprised throughout the album. ‘Annan Water’ and ‘The Hazards of Love 2’ are similar standouts. In this form, the Decemberists distinctness shines through.
Acting within a very small context of rock operas, The Hazards of Love lacks the subtlety that makes the best of them so impressive. Where Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust’s opera status seems almost incidental to the meshing of the songs, the Decemberists achieve something that is more like the reality of the stage: a deliberate mash of genres. While this is interesting, it is neither cohesive nor authentic enough to sustain its nigh-on 60-minute running time. At points, the ambitions and talents of the band meet and when they do the results are excellent. Still, a more concentrated, song based approach is a better, more natural fit for the talents of Meloy and his band.
