For as much as the band seems to have a very specific aesthetic, The Decemberists have been known to frequently step out of their folk-rock box and go in some weird directions. For example, 2009's The Hazards Of Love is a rock opera with an evil forest queen and a magic fawn boy and 2015's What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World had a track that was definitely about oral sex, but The Decemberists have just released a new song that might have the weirdest addition yet: a synthesizer.
The song, “Severed,” is off of a new album that the band has also just announced. It’s titled I’ll Be Your Girl, and it’ll be available on March 16. In a statement (via Pitchfork), frontman Colin Meloy explained that the album is supposed to be “something different,” and that he wanted to try and break the habits that he and the other band members have made over their 17 years together. He also teased that I’ll Be Your Girl will “tend to the darker, more absurdist side of things,” which the album art—below—definitely seems to support.
You can pre-order I’ll Be Your Girl at this link, and you can see a big batch of new tour dates below.
The Decemberists I’ll Be Your Girl Tour 2017
3/22—Pomona, CA—The Fox Theater
3/23—Santa Barbara, CA—Arlington Theatre
3/24—Phoenix, AZ—Innings Festival
4/6—St. Paul, MN—Palace Theatre
4/8—Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theater
4/10—Chicago, IL—The Chicago Theatre
4/13-14—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium
4/15—Atlanta, GA—Coca-Cola Roxy
4/16—N. Charleston, SC—North Charleston Performing Arts Center
4/18—Charlotte, NC—Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
4/19—Durham, NC—Durham Performing Arts Center
4/20—Richmond, VA—The National
4/21—Washington, DC—The Anthem
4/23—Geneva, NY—Smith Opera House
4/24—Cleveland, OH—Agora Theatre
4/25—St. Louis, MO—Peabody Opera House
5/22—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre
5/23—Kansas City, MO—Uptown Theater
5/25—Ann Arbor, MI—Hill Auditorium
5/26—Lewiston, NY—Artpark
5/27—Boston, MA—Boston Calling Festival
5/28—Montreal, QC—MTELUS
5/30—Toronto, ON—Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
5/31—Pittsburgh, PA—Benedum Center
6/2—Indianapolis, IN—Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
6/5—Louisville, KY—Iroquois Amphitheater
6/7—Philadelphia, PA—Mann Center for the Performing Arts
6/8—New Haven, CT—College Street Music Hall
6/9—Shelburne, VT—The Green at Shelburne Museum
6/10—Portland, ME—State Theatre
6/13—Brooklyn, NY—Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
6/15—North Adams, MA—MASS MoCA
6/21—Seattle, WA—Paramount Theatre
6/22-23—Troutdale, OR—Edgefield
8/4-5—Missoula, MT—Travelers’ Rest Festival