Events

[ROCK] What better way to indicate that your band is changing direction than to bring in a synthesizer? The Decemberists went on hiatus in 2011 but returned in 2015 with a new record. That record, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, hinted at a change in direction for the band, but in the end delivered a pretty quintessentially Decemberists record, which is what fans kind of want in a record that marks the return from a hiatus. But now, a few years later, the band is full established as “returned” and their new record, I’ll Be Your Girl, released in March, delivers on the changes that frontman Colin Meloy has been hinting at—inspired by bands like New Order, Depeche Mode, and R.E.M., and produced by John Congleton, whose work with bands like St. Vincent promised to bring Xiu Xiu promised to bring a new perspective on song structures. The band’s hyperliterate soul has been left unchanged, though; you can still expect to hear songs based on old Slavic parables and whatnot. The Decemberists come to Artpark for a concert on the Mainstage on Saturday, May 26.