Picaresque

iTunes Review

Decemberists' lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy likes a good put-on. He's less the leader of a five-piece indie-rock band from Portland, Oregon than the high-school theater director of "South Pacific" gone stark, raving mad. For his band's third album, Picaresque, Meloy continues his obsession with life's quirky characters - suicides, military wives, failed athletes - setting their unfortunate tales to music that recalls the rushing waves of the sea and the ornate production principles of '60s psychedelia. He can be too precious ("Of Angels and Angles" wouldn't impress a dyslexic), but he often imbues his characters with a humanity and self-knowledge that make them sympathetic in their ambitions ("The Sporting Life"). Picaresque was recorded over three weeks in a former Baptist church and features a grand sound - with fourteen guest musicians on trumpet, trombone, and something called "The Worm Hole," - that lends even the darkest tale a circus-like enthusiasm and festivity. Whether these are all shaggy-dog stories or genuine tales of heartache and woe, Meloy is one of the few songwriters who goes beyond his thesaurus to capture a world where "folderol" can be rhymed with "chaparral" without blushing.