The Decemberists pair their signature folk sound with a newer art-rock arrangement on “Once in My Life.” The single begins with singer Colin Meloy belting “Oh, for once in my life/ Could just something go right?” over acoustic guitar. The track takes a vehement turn with synths, tremolo guitar drones and processed drum sounds.
“Once in My Life” is the Decemberists’ second single from their upcoming eighth LP, I’ll Be Your Girl, following “Severed.” The quintet embraced untapped influences like Roxy Music and New Order on the LP, which they recorded with producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Future Islands).
In a statement about the album, Meloy highlighted “Once in My Life” as an example of their creative shift. “Since we were going to mix it up, everybody felt like they had more of a voice,” he said. “We were playing that on the road as a folk-rock anthem thing, but bringing in that obliterating synth really took it somewhere different. The whole band really stepped up and transformed these arrangements.”
The standard edition of I’ll Be Your Girl is out March 16th. The band also announced an “Exploded Version,” a limited edition vinyl box set featuring four exclusive bonus tracks on eight seven-inch colored records and elaborate artwork.
The band will promote the LP on a world tour, including A North American leg that launches March 22nd in Pomona, California. The trek includes a headlining spot during their personally curated festival, Traveler’s Rest; Death Cab for Cutie, Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples will also perform at the event, scheduled for August 4th and 5th in Missoula, Montana.
