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 Capitol. The 18-minute video for The Tain, by filmmaker Andy Smetanka, finally appeared early this year on The Decemberists: A Practical Handbook DVD, which also documented a 2005 concert.Smetanka-- who's based in singing Decemberist Colin Meloy's native Missoula, Mont.-- made The Tain video entirely from "silhouette crepe paper stop motion animation," Meloy told Pitchfork senior news editor Amy Phillips three years ago. It's an impressive feat, and if you like The Tain EP's Chris Walla-produced embrace of metal-esque neoclassical mythos, then you won't be disappointed. The Sword and the Stone-style text helps narrate the storyline now and then, between scenes of creeping snails, battling knights, and sinister skeletons. Just make sure you have a little free time.Pitchfork.tv page with embed code is here.[The Tain EP is out now on Acuarela/Kill Rock Stars]