The first of my anticipated albums for 2009 is now available, and this is my (barely competent) review.

The Hazards of Love (THoL for short) is an epic 17-song suite written as a rock opera and sees The Decemberists dabble in everything from their signature sounds to Sabbath-like riffage. To call it ambitious and grandiose would be an understatement. It should be noted that the entire album is essentially one long song going through several movements during its hour-long length. The songs effortlessly spill into each other as frontman Colin Meloy spins his yarn, ably assisted by several guest vocalists and musicians.

The album opener is aptly titled “Prelude” and does nothing more than lead into the mellow “The Hazards of Love 1″ which is probably my favorite of the four tracks carrying the Hazards title. “A Bower Scene” quickly changes the tempo as it powers through a short two-minute length. It contains the first evidence of some of the heavy metal thunder to be found on this album, and “Won’t Want For Love” sets up a great contrast between Becky Stark’s hauntingly beautiful vocals (she voices Margaret) and chunky electric guitar riffs tinged with just the right amount of folk to remind listeners that this is still a Decemberists song. “THoL 2″ follows and while musically similar to the first, it moves through a somewhat different set of arrangements and lyrics. “The Queen’s Approach” is a quick interlude before the enchanting “Isn’t It a Lovely Night?”, a duet between Meloy’s William and Stark’s Margaret.

Unlike The Crane Wife, THoL doesn’t have any songs that push the 10-minute mark and at 6:26, “The Wanting Comes in Waves” is the longest song on the album. It also introduces the character of the Forest Queen, voiced by Shara Worden. Her deep, quivering voice does great justice to the character and sounds genuinely menacing in certain sections. “An Interlude” is a simple song played on acoustic guitar and bridges “The Wanting Comes in Waves” and “The Rake’s Song” which was the first single from this album. It’s a great song with humorous (yet scary) lyrics featuring the Rake murdering his three kids. “The Abduction of Margaret” is a musical (but not lyrical) reprise of “A Bower Scene” and bleeds into the heaviest song on this record (and perhaps their entire discography): “The Queen’s Rebuke/The Crossing.” The song sees Worden take centerstage with the band creating a thunderous sound (reminiscent of early hard rock/metal bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath) in the background. Believe it or not, it still sounds like The Decemberists (especially if you’ve listened to The Tain EP and/or “When The War Came” off of The Crane Wife).

The band’s penchant for contrast is abundantly clear when they follow Rebuke with the most Decemberists-esue song on the album, “Annan Water,” a delicious acoustic number. “Margaret in Captivity” finds our friend, the Rake, singing a far mellower, but equally disturbing number as Margaret cries out for help. “THoL 3″ is probably the most “fun” of all the Hazards tracks with a children’s choir - voicing the Rake’s dead kids who’ve come back to haunt him - singing over a straightforward synth (I think) line. Very Pink Floyd (think “Another Brick in The Wall 2″). “The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)” is a quick reprise and leads into the final track on the album, “THoL 4″ - a good closer. The album does not go out with a bang, nor does it fade away. Instead, it ends with a beautiful, mid-tempo Decemberists-esque song.

Perhaps my only complaints lie with the use of identical openings to “THoL 3″ and “The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)” and the lack of treble in some sections, with heavy use of reverb and a muscular production probably responsible for the latter. Very minor, and, in my opinion, an indication of how good this album really is. And while I’ve gone through the individual songs, it’s important to realize that this album is at its best when listened to from beginning to end. Still, I’ve included a list of my favorite songs from this album at the end of the review.

I get the feeling that this is going to be a solid year for music. We’re barely a quarter of the way in, and there have been some good releases already (e.g., The Pains of Being Pure at Heart). The Hazards of Love continues the trend by being totally awesome. Also, fuck Pitchfork and their score of 5.7/10 for this most excellent album.

Rating: 4.5/5

Highlights:

The Hazards of Love 1, 2, 3

The Rake’s Song

Won’t Want For Love

The Wanting Comes in Waves

The Queen’s Rebuke

Annan Water

Listen to the album: http://www.imeem.com/ewcom

Listen to the first ever live performance of the album in its entirety: NPR Showcase at SXSW 2009

I really should blog more often, especially since I have Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays off this semester. Oh well. I think I’m going to have to be brief here, but the following lines will catch you up on what I’ve been doing (and what has happened to me) since I left India.

I now have a twitter account. Follow me here.  I attempt to update at least twice a day (which is about 100x more often than my blog, har har).  I’m going to try and add my twitter feed to the blog soon.

This post is coming from Firefox 3.0.5 running on Windows 7 Ultimate (beta).  I’ve been using the 64bit beta on and off for the past two weeks now, and I like it.  The interface changes are good and I’m happy that they finally put in shortcuts to minimize and maximize windows.  ArsTechnica did a great article on the beta, so you might want to read that for the skinny on Windows 7.  So far, the only thing to not work: abc.com’s video player.

Last Friday, I received a call from Northwestern University.  After introducing himself, the nice guy at the other end said I’d been recommended to the Ph.D. program in Materials Science.  After staring into space, wondering what that meant, and subsequently collecting my jaw from the floor, I said, “oh, that’s great” and proceeded to mumble through the rest of the phone call.  Following that shocker, I received word from MIT and Stanford this Wednesday, congratulating me on being accepted.  Thus far, only Northwestern has told me how much financial aid I’ll get, but to get into three out of my top four choices has left me excited, delighted, shocked, and <insert adjective describing joy>.  It also means that I have a tough decision to make, but thankfully, the scheduling works out so that I can visit all three places in the coming months.  I’m hoping that the visits convincingly swing my decision one way, since April 15 is not that far away.

I just spent several hours of this week working on a solar module donation request to BP Solar.  If we get the solar panels, we (Columbia University Engineers Without Borders) hope to set up a health center in Melghat, India that will house a vaccine fridge, indoor bulbs, and outdoor lights all running off the panels.  Considering that our budget for all the equipment other than the panels is about as much as the panels would cost, we’re really hoping to get the donation.  It would be a major achievement, and something to brag about in our résumés.

Man, all this writing has made me hungry.  I should go get some food before BATTLESTAR GALACTICA at 10.  Peace out.

OMFG, the first single from the upcoming Decemberists album is out!  You can download it for free from www.decemberists.com and/or listen to it below!

Lyrics: (From the Youtube link)

I had entered into a marriage
In the summer of my twenty-first year
And the bells rang for our wedding
Only now do I remember it clear
Alright, alright, alright

No more a rake and no more a bachelor
I was wedded and it whetted my thirst
Until her womb start spilling out babies
Only then did I reckon my curse
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

First came Eziah with his crinkled little fingers
Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn
Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery
Mercifully taking her mother along
Alright, alright, alright

What can one do when one is widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Eziah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath
Alright, alright, alright

And that’s how I came your humble narrator
To be living so easy and free
Expect you think that I should be haunted
But it never really bothers me
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

DUDES (AND DUDETTES), I TOTALLY CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS ALBUM AND THE SUBSEQUENT TOUR.

I hope that Part I was an enjoyable read.  Here’s the sequel.

Primal Scream - Beautiful Future

If nothing else, just listen to the first two tracks from this album to see how catchy the Scream can be (but don’t let the upbeat melodies fool you - pay attention to the lyrics).  I’m fan of Screamadelica and XTRMNTR, but Beautiful Future is a very different record.  It’s uneven and full of massive hooks and catchy tunes, but not as good as either of the two albums I mentioned in the last sentence.  Unfortunately, I find myself saying that way too often in my music write-ups.  Maybe I am turning into a jaded, cynical critic after all.

Definitely try: Beautiful Future, Can’t Go Back, Necro Hex Blues

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Keeping that critic hat on for a bit longer, I was disappointed by the fourth effort from these guys.  I heard some songs during this 2007 tour, and they sounded encouraging, but on the whole, this album hasn’t clicked for me, at least not yet.  Boys and Girls in America was incredible, and the two before it were great too, but I’m not a fan of Stay Positive.

Definitely try:  Stay Positive, Sequestered in Memphis

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV and The Slip

I thought it made sense to bunch together NIN’s two releases from 2008, considering that they came out so close to each other.  But that’s not to say that they sound the same, or offer some sort of continuity - Ghosts is an entirely instrumental record, while The Slip is a regular NIN release.  Where they are similar, however is how they were made available: by Trent Reznor himself, and more importantly, free.  Anyway, I liked both albums, and although not his best work, Reznor has done well since breaking free of his major label contract, and I’m looking forward to what else he has up his sleeve.  He recently put up 400GB of raw video footage from three 2007 concerts for people to download via bitTorrent.  The idea is that those with some video editing experience can put together DVDs of their own.  Brilliant.

Definitely try (The Slip) - Discipline, Letting You, Corona Radiata

Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life

Protest The Hero - Fortress

No-Man - Schoolyard Ghosts

I haven’t given these albums enough time to pass a judgment, but I did like Schoolyard Ghosts.  The former two have received critical praise, but my initial opinion was not positive.  Perhaps it will change after a few more listens.

BONUS!

As a special reward for making it this far (assuming you’ve read Part I already), here’s a list of my most anticipated albums for 2009:

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

This seventeen-track album is being touted as a rock opera by the band and will see light of day on March 24, 2009.  I simply cannot wait to hear what these guys have cooked up on their fifth full-length!

Porcupine Tree - Unnamed LP

The next PT record is scheduled to hit in the second half of 2009, confirmed by the September and October touring dates and posts on the PT website as well as those by Gavin Harrison on the Drummerworld forums.  There isn’t much information other than the band spending time writing songs a while ago, and recording to begin in the next month or so.

Dream Theater - Unnamed LP

DT are back in the studio and so a new album should drop later this year.  I really hope they can improve upon their last two efforts.

Tool -

No information is available at all on the next album, although this is roughly the time when the band would begin work on a new album - 10,000 Days will be three years old this May.

To shake things up a bit, I decided to do away with the “Top 5″ albums format that I followed for the past three years.  It was mostly predictable what album would end up at #1, so I figured it wasn’t that much fun.  Besides, just looking at the annual lists published by online music websites, I’ve realized that I don’t listen to nearly enough music to justify a top anything list.  What I’m going to do here is briefly talk about what music (released in ‘08) I was listening to in the year gone by.  Here we go.  Oh, and also, as a late decision, I’m making this a two-parter.  Part II will be posted soon.

Opeth - Watershed

I never thought of myself as a death metal fan - the growling and general heaviness in the music were always a turn-off.  But when I gave Opeth an honest listen, I actually enjoyed their music. Their methodology of mixing heavy music with mellower moments creates an engaging contrast which has kept me interested for most of 2008.  Their latest album, Watershed is a fine record, and has everything - heavy, pounding death metal, growling, sweet/clean vocals, and even a keyboard solo.  Blackwater Park still remains my favorite Opeth record, however.

Definitely try:  Heir Apparent, The Lotus Eater

Metallica - Death Magnetic

My, they took their own sweet time with this one, didn’t they?  Well, it was for the best because I think DM is a solid Metallica record that has them returning to their old sound, almost entirely ditching what they did in St. Anger.  I don’t think it can be counted among classics such as Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, but this is a very good album that shows Metallica can still put metal up yo’ ass.

Definitely try:  All Nightmare Long, My Apocalypse, The Day That Never Comes

Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

As the wait for the next Porcupine Tree album is set to last until later this year, I decided to try the new Steven Wilson solo record.  Just be mindful that this is not a Porcupine Tree album, even though you might notice the PT style in some places.  The songs are varied, and PT’s Gavin Harrison provides some terrific live drum work to complement Wilson’s arrangements. Production, as expected, is top-notch.

Definitely try:  Harmony Korine, Insurgentes, Salvaging

R.E.M. - Accelerate

I did a full review when Accelerate was released earlier this year.  Check it out here.  Since then, I went to see R.E.M. as the famed Madison Square Garden, and came away impressed, from what was certainly one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.  Like Metallica, R.E.M. returned with a bang in 2008.

Definitely try: Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Supernatural Superserious, Horse To Water

The Verve - Forth

Clever title, eh?  Fourth album, the band setting their career back on track, etc. etc.  The first four songs are very good, but the album slackens after that.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t achieve the kind of quality that Urban Hymns and A Northern Soul managed.  Maybe this was a tentative reboot, and I’m hoping for a better record next time around (if there is one).

Definitely try: Sit and Wonder, Love is Noise, Rather Be