The Decemberists release The Crane Wife on 10.3.06

Posted by Flick in News on 09 21st, 2006 | no responses |

The Decemberists are releasing The Crane Wife on October 3, to continue Colin Meloy's literary rock journey, their fourth LP. The album is promised to fill 60 minutes with eleven tracks. Donning their usual vintage wear, this release is their first major label bow with Capitol Records since leaving Kill Rock Stars.

The Crane Wife is based on a Japanese folk tale of the same name that Colin Meloy reportedly found in a children's book section. You can listen to the fourth track, O Valencia!, on The Decemberists' Myspace.

Pitchfork shared some exciting tidbits about the album:
Singer/songwriter Laura Veirs duets with Colin Meloy on the Civil War ballad "Yankee Bayonet", Sun City Girls associate Eyvind Kang contributed violin parts, and co-producer Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie) "sang a bunch and did some keyboard-y bits throughout," according to Meloy.

As Puddlegum reported in August, Colin Meloy and The Decemberists will be performing 26 shows across the US this fall, starting October 17 and ending November 18. The Rout Of The Patagons Tour will include Nethers, Violent Femmes (and Cake), Lavender Diamond, and Alasdair Roberts. The Decemberists will be releasing a DVD on February 15, 2007 with their former label, Kill Rock Stars.

Tracklist for The Crane Wife:
01 The Crane Wife 3
02 The Island:
Come and See
The Landlord's Daughter
You'll Not Feel the Drowning
03 Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
04 O Valencia!
05 The Perfect Crime #2
06 When the War Came
07 Shankill Butchers
08 Summersong
09 The Crane Wife 1 & 2
10 Sons and Daughters

The Decemberists – Engine Driver (Picaresque)
The Decemberists – The Soldiering Life (Her Majesty The Decemberists)

The Decemberists on iTunes
The Decemberists on Emusic

The Decemberists photo shoot for The Crane Wife (Stereogum)