It was interesting to hear the Decemberists infuse shouts and distortion into the thornier, Valentine's and family values-friendly "The Rake's Song. As a followup, The Hazards Of Love's (first) title track opens with a little bit of drone before acoustic guitars enter the picture and Colin Meloy tells us his true love went riding out in white and green and gray. It has less oomph than "The Rake's Song," yes, but there is something psychedelic (and jammy) about the instrumentation, which keeps it from snoring entirely. Also someone yells at the end, just in case you were nodding off.
Or you can take a listen at the band's MySpace.
The Hazards Of Love is out 3/24 via Capitol.
