Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Still, with the opening harmonica wail and Gillian Welch’s Dust Bowl harmonies, it’s clear that The Decemberists’ latest finds them hitting the “reset” button after a run of densely layered albums that began with Picaresque, took a prog turn with The Crane Wife and vaulted into the folk-rock-opera stratosphere with The Hazards of Love. The Portland quintet hasn’t completely stripped down on its latest, but now mandolin, fiddle and some jangly guitar from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck are helping the band take a turn toward West Coast country rock.