Artist	Song
The Decemberists	16 Military Wives
from Picaresque (2005)
The Decemberists	O Valencia!
from The Crane Wife (2006)
The Decemberists	The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
from Hazards of Love (2009)
The Decemberists	January Hymn
from The King Is Dead (2011)
The Decemberists	We Both Go Down Together
from Picaresque (2005)
The Decemberists	Here I Dreamt I was an Architect
from Castaways and Cutouts (2003)
The Decemberists	July, July!
from Castaways and Cutouts (2003)
The Decemberists	Los Angeles, I'm Yours
from Her Majesty The Decembrists (2003)
The Decemberists	The Crane Wife, Pt. 3
from The Crane Wife (2006)
The Decemberists	Don't Carry It All
from The King Is Dead (2011)
The Decemberists	The Engine Driver
from Picaresque (2005)
The Decemberists	California One / Youth and Beauty Brigade
from Castaways and Cutouts (2003)
The Decemberists	The Sporting Life
from Picaresque (2005)
The Decemberists	The Rake's Song
from Hazards of Love (2009)
The Decemberists	Billy Liar
from Her Majesty The Decembrists (2003)
The Decemberists	Down By the Water
from The King Is Dead (2011)
The Decemberists	Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
from The Crane Wife (2006)
The Decemberists	Shanty for the Arethusa
from Her Majesty The Decembrists (2003)
The Decemberists	Clementine
from Castaways and Cutouts (2003)
The Decemberists	The Perfect Crime #2
from The Crane Wife (2006)
The Decemberists	A Bower Scene
from Hazards of Love (2009)
The Decemberists	The Infanta
from Picaresque (2005)
The Decemberists	The Gymnast, High Above the Ground
from Her Majesty The Decembrists (2003)
The Decemberists	The Mariner's Revenge Song
from Picaresque (2005)
The Decemberists	June Hymn
from The King Is Dead (2011)
The Decemberists	Angel, Won't You Call Me?
from 5 Songs - EP (2003)
The Decemberists	I Was Meant for the Stage
from Her Majesty The Decembrists (2003)
The Decemberists	Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right
from Billy Liar - EP (2004)
The Decemberists	Isn't It a Lovely Night?
from Hazards of Love (2009)
Colin Meloy	Wonder
from Colin Meloy Sings Live! (2008)

Comment:

It’s taken the Decemberists a decade to go from the groove-locked pleas of “Angel, Won’t You Call Me?” to the brittle balladry of “January Hymn,” a breakout track from the Portland band’s first #1 album, The King Is Dead. You read that right: the Decemberists landed atop the Billboard charts in 2011, as the mainstream finally embraced their fresh takes on folk and richly woven indie rock. Of course it helps that R.E.M.’s Peter Buck lends some rootsy guitar lines to “Down By the Water” — right alongside the honeyed harmonies of Gillian Welch — but all of the special guests in the world couldn’t take way from Colin Meloy’s commanding voice or his band’s shifting backdrops, including the sputtering percussion of “The Rake’s Song,” the wave-crashing chords of “A Bower Scene,” and the subtle, bittersweet touches of “Clementine.”

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