Robert Pollard's new band with Guided by Voices pal Chris Slusarenko and drummer John Moen of the Decemberists seems to have reinvigorated the prolific songwriter. Shedding the bloat and eccentricities of his recent projects, Brown Submarine is as direct and tuneful as anything since GBV's heyday.read more

This year, Colin Meloy and co. released a series of three vinyl singles, joined under the shared title Always a Bridesmaid, that-- after the sometimes overblown The Crane Wife-- offer a welcome return to more modest song forms.read more

Photo by Nilina Mason-CampbellColin Meloy recently spoke to Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily about the sound and concept of the new Decemberists album, Hazards of Love, and guess what? "It's a twisty, fantastical story about a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William, who is desperate for the tw...

You'd be amazed at the number of famous folks it takes to make a Marianne Faithfull album these days; amazed and delighted.Quite a crew went into crafting Easy Come, Easy Go, the British songstress' 22nd LP, due January 19 from UMTV though available now through iTunes in Europe.The disc was laid down at New York's Sear Sound in December of 2007 ...

The Tain EP by the Decemberists has a history that's long and circuitous enough for, well, an 18-minute composition based on an Irish epic myth. Which is exactly what it is. The EP first came out on Spanish label Acuarela in 2004. Kill Rock Stars re-released the disc a year later, just before the baroque-beguiled jangle-poppers made the leap to ...