Review Summary: The title of this album is Castaways and Cutouts, which is ironic, because that should be exactly what happened to about half of the songs/musicians on this CD.
Bands nowadays are practically forced to make fuller albums. People want more from their music and the artists are expected to deliver. But what if you run out of ideas? What if you just can't make enough to build a full album? Most would suggest to make an EP to keep listeners satisfied until the band is ready for a full-length, but what if the band just insists on making an LP? Well you basically end up with The Decemberists' second full length, Castaways and Cutouts.
Starting off with the positives. Colin Meloy is a very good lyricist. He can weave the dreamlike world of imagination with the harsh, often brutal, realities many come to face on a day to day basis. The songs also are given older and dustier feel to them, making many songs have a distinctly reminiscint edge not seen in many types of music today. Honestly, it is like listening to a much darker (and earlier setting) of a musical The Wonder Years. "A Cautionary Song," perhaps best personifies these attributes, with its tale of the abusive prostitution of some mother, the depressing song-story ending with a lecture on why you should eat your vegetables.
The musicianship is definitely solid. While nowhere near reaching some of their later efforts, especially
The Crane Wife, it's still very listenable. There was obviously much effort to create the atmosphere in this album, as the songs generally have a darker vibe, with an obvious hook. At least the enjoyable songs do, but that will be addressed more fully later. Songs such as "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architecht" and "The Legionarrie's Lament" are basically acoustic chords with added instruments, which is somewhat of a double-edged sword of this album. While it makes the songs fun and catchy, it really takes away from the fun of the other instruments. The accordion thankfully adds to the songs, but it doesn't recieve enough focus within the songs to warrant any more of a reaction than, "ooh accordion, that is kinda cool I guess." Thankfully, the album starts out with the beautiful "Leslie Anne Levine" giving the accordion a good impression from the start, if only it felt as prominent in the other songs. The rhythm section, on the other hand, could almost be non-existant. They don't get in the way musically, but they are there almost entirely for the sake of being there. It is kind of like playing a song you don't want to play, you just go through the motions to get it over with as painless as possible.
The other (and definitely worst) problem with this album is the middle section. "Odalisque", "Cocoon", and "Grace Cathedral Hill" are somewhat samey, and much too long for their own good. It makes the album hard digest in its entirety. The only song that somewhat redeems itself is "Odalisque", with its up-tempo second half, but even then suffers from mediocrity in comparison. The other two songs are not only mediocre, but hardly even warrant a listening. "Cocoon" barely even progesses and being the second longest song at 6:41 that is a major problem. It isn't the fact that they cannot successfully make longer songs, because the album's finale, "California One/The Youth and Beauty Brigade" is one of their longest songs, clocking in at almost ten minutes. It is coincidentally one of the best songs on the album as well, with plenty of movements and very memorable chorus. The middle songs, though, they make the album feel bloated. If they were removed, this album could be an easy 4.5 or even 5 as a longer EP or maybe even a short LP. Too bad they kept them, because it really drags the album down as a whole.
So, in short, if you are looking for a good album with an entirely skippable middle-section, this is probably the album for you.
All songs are recommended
(except for Odalisque, Cocoon, and Grace Cathedral Hill)
