THE DECEMBERISTS MARK CAREER-HIGH CHART POSITION WITH ITUNES EXCLUSIVE OF THE HAZARDS OF LOVE HOTLY DEBATED NEW ALBUM #1 ON ITUNES LAST WEEK; DEBUTS AT #14 ON THE BILLBOARD 200
The Decemberists have achieved their career-high chart position with the iTunes digital exclusive of The Hazards of Love, which was released March 17th and became the #1 album on the iTunes Store last week, debuting today at #1 on Billboard’s Top Digital chart and #14 on The Billboard 200. The Decemberists’ previous album, The Crane Wife, peaked at #35 the week it was released in 2006. The Hazards of Love was also released as deluxe 180-gram gatefold vinyl through select indie retailers last week, and was made available widely through all retail outlets in all formats yesterday, March 24th.
The Hazards of Love, which earned a 4-star rating in Rolling Stone and was the subject of a glowing review on NPR All Things Considered, continues to be the most intensely debated album of the year. The band’s live debut of the album last week at NPR Music’s SXSW showcase in Austin, Texas, was one of the most buzzed about shows of the festival, and earned rave reviews across the board. Pitchfork called the performance “a triumph,” while The Wall Street Journal wrote that “it’s quite an impressive work…a remarkable experience.”
The New York Times offered this descriptive: “The Hazards of Love is an all-or-nothing proposition. It’s an unapologetic concept album, with characters, recurring musical passages and a perhaps allegorical story about two pairs of lovers enfolded in images of rivers…[Colin] Meloy has always been fascinated by the British folk tradition and by 1970s rock…The Hazards of Love plunges in further: segueing from prettily picked ballads to church-organ processionals to riff-rock and back…Yet the large form found coherence; melodies gained strength and resonance each time they returned to underline a plot parallel, as Mr. Meloy’s libretto traced arcs from desire and love to destruction and oblivion. It’s old-fashioned and quixotic for Mr. Meloy to write an hourlong rock opera in an era of snippets and Shuffle mode, but the music justified the attention span.”
Check out what else the critics have been saying about The Hazards of Love:
“The first few times I listened to the new Decemberists album The Hazards of Love, I dismissed it… But Colin Meloy’s latest sprawling rock opera grew on me, the raw emotion cutting through the frilly window-dressing and the metal (yes, metal) parts feeling more and more assured. The album’s few repeating musical themes lodged in my brainstem and refused to leave, and I realized: shit, this band has pulled it off yet again.”—Pitchfork
“Decemberists albums are consistently generous with great tunes and charm, and The Hazards of Love is no different… Personified by vocals from Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, characters come to life…bringing vivacity and added dimension to an expansive and ambitious undertaking.”—Billboard
“Colin Meloy’s gorgeously crafted compositions remain multitextured, layering strings against synthesizers in this cycle’s fable of love gone awry…moody, compelling melodies in glorious arrangements; and elegant phrasing dripping like honey off the tongue.”—Austin Chronicle
“The Decemberists are old-school ambitious: out to scale sonic peaks and narrative heights because they are there… Meloy is a rare bird: genuinely sincere, a true eccentric, and craftsman enough to use those competing gifts in the service of his big, bookish ideas.”—Boston Globe
“…a delicious, delirious swirl of baroque melodrama, 70s analog synthesizers, elegiac heavy-metal guitars, and gorgeous, timeless melodies.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“The quintet blends the brooding atmosphere of English folk with the grandeur of hard rock…the music rocks convincingly on its own audacious terms.”—Chicago Tribune
“If anyone has made a more breathtaking folk-rock album in the past 20 years, I’ve yet to hear it.”—London Times
“…a rich and transporting experience.”—Washington Times
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The Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen will kick-off the first leg of their 2009 tour on May 19th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The 16-date run also includes a June 10th performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as a set at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. On tour, the band will play two sets a night, the first a full performance of The Hazards of Love, and the second consisting of their older material. Joining the band on stage will be special guests Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond). More upcoming tour dates will be announced shortly.
The Decemberists’ confirmed 2009 tour dates are as follows:
May 19 Hollywood Palladium (w/ Other Lives) Los Angeles, CA
May 20 Fox Theatre (w/ Other Lives) Oakland, CA
May 21 McDonald Theater (w/ Other Lives) Eugene, OR
May 23 Sasquatch Festival Quincy, WA
May 24 Wilma Theatre (w/ Blind Pilot) Missoula, MT
May 26 Fillmore Auditorium (w/ Blind Pilot) Denver, CO
May 27 Uptown Theater (w/ Blind Pilot) Kansas City, MO
May 29 Riverside Theater (w/ Blind Pilot) Milwaukee, WI
May 31 The Pageant (w/ Blind Pilot) St. Louis, MO
June 1 Lifestyle Communities Pavilion (w/ Blind Pilot) Columbus, OH
June 3 Tabernacle (w/ Blind Pilot) Atlanta, GA
June 4 Memorial Auditorium (w/ Blind Pilot) Raleigh, NC
June 5 The National (w/ Blind Pilot) Richmond, VA
June 6 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA
June 8 Merriweather Post Pavilion (w/ Andrew Bird) Baltimore, MD
June 9 Bank of America Pavilion Boston, MA
June 10 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
June 11-14 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, TN
July 18-19 Edgefield Winery (w/ Andrew Bird & Blind Pilot) Portland, OR