pacific northwest rockers go big
this ship has set sail
While they aren’t from Seattle, their hometown’s proximity makes it feel o.k. to claim the Decemberists as something of own. The Pacific Northwest sort of being one big neighborhood and all (sort of how we think of portland.metblogs.com as a beloved cousin). In any case, the historicalesque rockers with a fondness for songs that tell stories of maternal dockside prostitution, pirate vengeance, military camaraderie, and sporting humiliation are packing up their mariner costumes and leaving behind the waters of the Olympia-based Kill Rock Stars label. They recently announced that the new home for their soon-to-be in progress album will be with non-indie Capitol Records. But frontman Colin Meloy told Pitchfork News that fans don’t need to worry their pretty little indie haircuts about the band selling out:
we won’t be seeing the Decemberists working with the Matrix and duetting with Kelly Clarkson any time soon (not that either of those would necessarily be a bad thing). “We’re the same band and we’ll create the same music, if not stranger,” he said. “We’ve never been a band that can churn out radio hits, and I don’t think that Capitol sees that either. They were able to meet us on our own terms more than any other label we talked to, and were also the most forward about making sure that we don’t change for this deal.”[pitchfork]
Don’t forget that Colin Meloy is playing a solo show next month [mb]. To celebrate the Decemberists’ big news, why not listen to a few of my favorite tracks (courtesy of Kill Rock Stars [#]):
(via YouAin’tNoPicasso [#])
