"June Hymn" by the Decemberists

The potential exists for a lot of good music to come out this year.  So far there have been lots of good things heard from bands like Iron and Wine and The Decemberists.  I'm expecting good things from Bright Eyes, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, Radiohead, Coldplay, and last but certainly not least G. Love.  In fact, G. Love's album, which was produced by the Avett Brothers I think, just dropped the other day, and "Fixin' to Die" was close to being the SOTD today.  It wasn't though, because I really got a good chance over the last few days to listen through the new Decemberists album... and I have liked what I heard.

The album "The King is Dead" came out on January 14th of this year.  This album is a solid contemporary folk rock album.  It is a significant change up from a lot of the heavier sounds of their 2009 release, "Hazards of Love," but they don't lack passion, and a few of the songs still venture into harder rock.  This is the bands third album released by Capitol Records, and it demonstrates what many have come to expect from The Decemberists in the way of intelligent lyircs, wonderful harmonies, and unique instrumentation.

I would really love to feel the warmth of spring again... like last week.  I want to go take my dog for walks, play disc golf, and ride my motorcycle.  I think that "June Hymn" is a great reminder that warm weather is just around the corner.  This song is a hopeful and seemingly serious ode to the early summer month of June.  The vocals and harmonies are definitely the carrying force of the song, and the acoustic guitar, harmonica, accordian, bass, and maybe even a little wurlitzer do a wonderful backing job.  "The Decemberists" are very good at sounding old.  This song reminds of a Northwestern town in the woods that has made it through a hard winter, and is awakening to the warmth of summer, but not a town we would visit today, a town like a hundred years ago. I like the vibes, I like the lyrics, I even like the album cover.

The Decemberists are a band that stands on the merits of their music.  They aren't flashy, they certainly don't look as cool as Justin Bieber and Usher, but I think they bring good things to the world of music.  The sun is shining today, and June will be here pretty soon... not really soon, but sooner than yesterday I guess so give "June Hymn" a try.

Summer concerts are taking shape so make sure to check out tickets now.  The Decemberists will be in Pittsburgh on May 21st at the Benedum Center, and if you have the loot I'm sure it will be a good time.


This is a performance from MusicfestNW in Portland this past year.  A perfect song for Portland.