The Decemberists have announced their new album, I’ll Be Your Girl. The follow-up to 2015’s What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, their eighth studio LP will be released on March 16th via Capitol.
Having been together for 17 years, Colin Meloy said that the group aimed to get out of its “comfort zone” when approaching the new album, which included working with a new producer (John Congleton) and exploring new sounds. “On the last record there were moments when I thought I was making familiar choices,” Meloy said in a statement. “I tried to be mindful in the songwriting process of challenging myself and being a little more critical. The idea was, how can we be make unfamiliar choices, turn off the light a little and grope around in the dark a little bit?”
While working on the new material, the Decemberists discussed musical references, such as Roxy Music and early glam, and Meloy described the songs as conveying a mood that reflects the times: “exuberant nihilism, an apocalyptic dance party was what we envisioned,” Meloy said.
Those influences can be heard on their synth-tipped new song, “Severed.” On the moody track, the unrelenting synth line serves as an undercurrent for Meloy’s foreboding lyrics. “I alone am the answer/ I alone will make wrongs right,” he sings. “But in order to root out the cancer/ It’s got to be kept from the sunlight.” The accompanying Morgan Gruer-directed video features the band traversing a bleak, animated world. An animated Trump with devil-styled horns makes appearances and the bandmates are seen in black and white.
The Decemberists will embark on a tour following I’ll Be Your Girl‘s release, which kicks off in Pomona, CA at Fox Theater on March 22nd.
I’ll Be Your Girl Track List
1. “Once in My Life”
2. “Cutting Stone”
3. “Severed”
4. “Starwatcher”
5. “Tripping Along”
6. “Your Ghost”
7. “Everything is Awful”
8. “Sucker’s Prayer”
9. “We All Die Young”
10. “Rusalka, Rusalka / The Wild Rushes”
11. “I’ll Be Your Girl”
The Decemberists Tour Dates
March 22 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
March 23 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre
March 24 – Tempe AZ @ Innings Festival
April 6 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
April 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
April 10 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
April 13-14 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
April 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
April 16 – Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center
April 18 – Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
April 19 – Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center
April 20 – Richmond, VA @ The National
April 21 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
April 23 – Geneva, NY @ Smith Opera House
April 24 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
April 25 – St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House
May 22 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
May 23 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
May 25 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Hill Auditorium
May 26 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark
May 27 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Festival
May 28 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
May 30 – Toronto, ON @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
May 31 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Benedum Center
June 2 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
June 5 – Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater
June 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center for the Performing Arts
June 8 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
June 9 – Shelburne, VT @ The Green Street Music Hall
June 10 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
June 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
June 15 – North Adams, MA @ MASS MoCA
June 21 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
June 22-23 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
August 4-5 – Missoula, MT @ Travelers’ Rest
