The Decemberists' The King Is Dead drops on January 18, and it's shaping up to be one of the most-hyped releases of early 2011. We've already received a series of updates about the album, and now we have another single, "January Hymn."
You can listen to the track embedded below, courtesy of We All Want Someone to Shout For. As previously promised, it showcases a more straightforward folk sound than the group's prog-ish prior releases. Based around frontman Colin Meloy's vocals and acoustic guitar, the arrangement is fleshed out by subtle percussion and reverby atmospheric touches.
Below "January Hymn," you can hear the song's B-side: a six-plus minute cover of the Grateful Dead's "Jimmy Row."
The Decemberists have also uploaded a brief trailer for The King Is Dead to YouTube. It shows the band recording in a barn on a rainy day. See the clip here.
"January Hymn":
"Jimmy Row":
You can listen to the track embedded below, courtesy of We All Want Someone to Shout For. As previously promised, it showcases a more straightforward folk sound than the group's prog-ish prior releases. Based around frontman Colin Meloy's vocals and acoustic guitar, the arrangement is fleshed out by subtle percussion and reverby atmospheric touches.
Below "January Hymn," you can hear the song's B-side: a six-plus minute cover of the Grateful Dead's "Jimmy Row."
The Decemberists have also uploaded a brief trailer for The King Is Dead to YouTube. It shows the band recording in a barn on a rainy day. See the clip here.
"January Hymn":
"Jimmy Row":