Pages tagged “colin meloy”

Robyn Hitchcock recently revealed to Paste that his new album, Goodnight Oslo, will be released by Yep Roc on Feb. 17. It was recorded with The Venus 3: Peter Buck and Bill Reiflin of R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows—all members of the most recent of line-up of the Minus Five.

Last week, we told you about the Decemberists' new album Hazards of Love and its past life as a would-be musical. We also mentioned that frontman Colin Meloy was "still working with" some producers on "another project” for the stage, and while we didn't expect to hear much else about it for a while, well, we have. 

In the wake of last week's maddeningly brief announcement that recording had wrapped and mixing commenced on the Decemberists' upcoming fifth release, Paste got in touch with frontman Colin Meloy—not to chat about meat, but to further flesh out some details on the album now known as Hazards of Love. And unless your indie rock crystal ball somehow indicated the band's eventual adoption of British stoner metal as a major sonic touchstone, what we learned might surprise you.

Decemberists frontman’s live album superfluous, but completely enjoyable

“Tonight I’m gonna play you the worst song I ever wrote,” Colin Meloy announces before launching into “Dracula’s Daughter,” one of the two previously unreleased songs featured on this collection from his early-2006 solo tour. The other, “Wonder,” finds Meloy waxing paternal, his firstborn son then scarcely out of the womb. Now the kid’s a toddler and his pop is widely known as Stephen Colbert’s hyper-literate, prog-rocking green-screen nemesis, but Sings Live! calls to mind a simpler time. With an occasionally “misbehaving” acoustic guitar and his trademark professorial tenor, Meloy bounds through beloved Decemberists tracks (“California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade” and “Red Right Ankle” stand out) interwoven with scattered covers (Fleetwood Mac, Morrissey, Shirley Collins) and one throwback to his college band, Tarkio (“Devil’s Elbow”). All originals predate The Crane Wife, which was released later that year—the follow-up to which this hopefully presages.

Click here to read Paste's recent "Catching Up With..." interview with Colin Meloy...

As soon as I hit the button, I knew I’d done something horribly wrong. I’d just spent 20 minutes speaking on the phone with Colin Meloy about his latest projects: A live album (Colin Meloy Sings Live!), a limited-edition Sam Cooke covers EP and an upcoming solo tour. But with one misdirected jab of my finger, all audio evidence of the conversation was lost.

Yikes.

After a hectic 2007 filled with touring, more touring, rooftop parties and mystery illness, surely no one would begrudge members of The Decemberists a little time off for some R&R, right? Right. But from the looks of it, frontman Colin Meloy is fully rejecting your would-be empathy. Instead, he’s rolling out three new solo endeavors, coming soon to a mid-sized venue and/or music-listening contraption near you.

On April 7, Meloy will kick off his second solo acoustic U.S. tour in the fine city of Austin, Texas, wrapping up a month later with a homecoming show in Portland. April 8 will see the release of Colin Meloy Sings Live!, a collection of 14 tracks culled from his 2006 solo outing—which, among favorite Decemberists tunes and a few covers, includes a throwback to Tarkio, Meloy’s surprisingly excellent college band ("Devil's Elbow"), and a few unreleased tracks. ("Dracula’s Daughter" appeared on The Decemberists' setlist at last September’s Austin City Limits festival—here’s hoping this earlier version is just as hilariously awful.) And finally, throughout the tour he'll be offering up the limited-edition EP Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke, which is exactly what the name indicates and follows his previous, also-frankly-titled Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey and Colin Meloy Sings Shirley Collins.

Kill Rock Stars, the label Meloy and the Decemberists called home before signing with Capitol, will release both Sings Live! and Sings Cooke.

So, is there a Colin Meloy Sings New Decemberists Album in the works? We’re curious, too. Stay tuned for an upcoming Q&A with the bespectacled one himself.

Colin Meloy Sings Live! tracklist:

1. “Devil's Elbow”
2. “We Both Go Down Together”
3. Evoking a Campfire Singalong*
4. “The Gymnast, High Above the Ground”
5. “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect” > “Dreams”
6. “Dracula's Daughter” (previously unreleased)
7. “Wonder” (previously unreleased)
8. A Brief Introduction to Shirley Collins*
9. “Barbara Allen”
10. “The Engine Driver”
11. “On the Bus Mall”
12. A Skull, a Ship, and a Sheep*
13. “California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade” > “Ask”
14. “The Bachelor and the Bride”
15. “A Cautionary Song”
16. “Red Right Ankle”
17. “Bandit Queen”

* Between-song banter

Spring solo tour dates:

April
7 - Austin, Texas @ La Zona Rosa
8 - Dallas, Texas @ Granada Theater
10 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Variety Playhouse
11 - Asheville, N.C. @ Orange Peel
12 - Charlottesville, Va. @ The Satellite Ballroom
13 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
15 - Somerville, Mass. @ Somerville Theatre
16 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
17 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
21 - Chicago, Ill. @ Park West
22 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ The Pabst Theater
23 - Madison, Wisc. @ Barrymore Theater
25 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Liberty Hall
26 - Boulder, Colo. @ Fox Theatre
28 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Henry Fonda Theatre
29 - Santa Cruz, Calif. @ The Rio Theatre
30 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore

May
2 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox
3 - Portland, Ore. @ Wonder Ballroom

Related links:
Colin Meloy on MySpace
Paste: Blogs: 1,000 Words: The Decemberists with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra - Chastain Park - 7/13/07
KillRockStars.com

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy will perform an intimate solo concert Friday, October 6, 2006 at 7:30 PM in a Portland, Oregon home. The show, which comes only three days after the release of The Decemberists' new album, The Crane Wife, will benefit the Oregon League of Conservation Voters which works to elect pro-environment candidates to office in Oregon. Tickets will cost $75 which includes refreshments prepared by Stephen from The Decemberists' "The Apology Song" and seating will be very limited.

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