Or just artists evocative of that sound. It was my favorite album of last year, and I would like to find more in its vein.
I’ve already tried the rest of their discography, and didn’t find it to be of the same caliber.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any other bands out there that sound much of anything like the Decemberists. They have a unique mix of folk+pop+prog, then add Meloy’s very distinctive vocals and lyrics to the whoe thing.
You say that you’ve tried the rest of their discography, but a lot of people overlook their earlier EP The Tain, which is the closest thing out there to The Hazards of Love. Have you heard it?
The one non-Decemberists album I’d recommend as being similar to - but in many ways still very different than - The Hazards of Love is Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River. It’s a concept album with a similar folk/pop base, but without the prog elements.
Difficult one, I’ll take a look through my collection and see if I can find anything. I also enjoyed the album.
What about it do you like?
If you like the ethereal wordplay with a folkie bent, you might try harpist/pianist **Joanna Newsom’s **latest, a 3-disc set that is getting raves.
If you like arch wordplay with musical sophistication, try **Vampire Weekend’s **first CD or the new one, Contra.
If you like exploratory folk-ish / roots music based stuff, try **Sufjan Stevens **or Andrew Bird…
Depends on where you want to go…
You could also create a Pandora station for Hazards of Love and see what you get in response. Let me know if you do that, though, as I’d be interested in the results.
If you are not familiar with Jethro Tull, you might want to listen to Thick As A Brick, Passion Play and Minstrel In The Gallery from the early to mid 70s. There are some similarities to The Hazards of Love, and lots of differences.
Hazards kind of reminded me of Fleet Foxes, although that might just be because I picked them up simultaneously.
It’s also hard to mention comparing The Decemberists without mentioning The Shins, although hard to point to anything quite like Hazards in their discography, although their last two albums have a kinda-sorta similar sound.
Missed the edit window; you might also want to check out stuff by My Brightest Diamond, their lead Shara Worden sings The Queen in Hazards.
Pandora agrees… they also come up a lot on my Tom Waits/Richard Hawley station.
I am already familiar with My Brightest Diamond and Blacksheep Boy by Okkervil River. I like the former well enough, but don’t care too terribly much for the later except for So Come Back, I am Waiting.
I will check out Fleet Foxes and look into Tull.
All of that, pretty much, and in pretty much that order. I am most interested in the music and vocal signature, but I really like the prog flavor of the folk (my favorite track is The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid) and also enjoy the story of the album, though I’m generally not a fan of concept albums.
Pandora has only ever given me what I am looking for once, when I started a station for Grand Ole Party. Everything it played was art punk indie rock with female vocals, and I LOVED it, but every other station has been a severe disappointment, and throws stuff at me that is either superficially similar (yeah, I like female vocalists, but just because Sarah Fimm is a woman, that doesn’t mean she has much in common with Lady GaGa) or just off the wall. What do Louis Armstrong and Marina & the Diamonds have in common? It was then that I realized Pandora hates me.
From what I gather, Newsom would be up your alley. Like a complex harpist Kate Bush kinda vibe. Not quite prog in feel, but easily as complex and technically rendered…
Not coming up with any really good matches, but a few possibilities:
Funeral, Arcade Fire
All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer
The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow (although arguably Leaders of the Free World would be closer in style)
Some Fleet Foxes and Beirut tracks, or even Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac sounds a little similar to my ear. Hope that is of some help anyway.
Here’s an Elbow song from uTube, not part of any of their albums.
I’d say Robyn Hitchcock.
From the 80s, Globe of Frogs.
More recently an acoustic track that sounds Hazards-ish.
And, wow, the magic of YouTube, here’s the man playing live onstage with the Decemberists in 2007! So maybe the connection’s not just in my mind …
For your request, my iPod “Genius” playlist creator comes up with a lot of songs by:
Modest Mouse
The National
Iron & Wine
as well as the bands already mentioned. So basically a lot of bands that sort all don’t sound alike but kinda in the same way.
I would second Iron and Wine, and the National. I’ld also add Animal Collective (Merryweather Post Pavilion) and Bon Iver (For Emma Forever)
Animal Collective is more prog/folk.
Bon Iver has a unique and beautiful voice.
Oh and I also second Andrew Bird. For me the better album is Mysterious Production of Eggs YMMV