A Preview Of The Decemberists’ “What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World” & Record Release Events Around Portland
With local legends (and current Eleven PDX cover subjects) The Decemberists dropping What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World next Tuesday (1/20), we thought it’d be cool to take a look at what the band has shared of the record thus far. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World is The Decemberists’ seventh studio album, and their first in four years, bringing to end a hiatus that saw the band’s members stay very active with other projects. The record is a(nother) heartfelt and wonderfully wordy affair that has all the makings of a(nother) classic Decemberists album, with positively top notch production from Chris Funk.
To celebrate both the new record and the love affair between the band and it’s hometown, The Decemberists have announced a couple of incredibly cool, Portland-centric events next week. Up first, the band and local institution Music Millennium have teamed up to give we Portlanders a chance to hear and purchase the album a day early and have it signed by the group at a meet-and-greet in the 45-year-old record store on the Monday before the record drops (1/19).
Then on Tuesday, the band will be honored by the city with the naming of 1/20 as Decemberists Day in Portland. Mayor Charlie Hayes will honor the band during an event at 2pm at city hall that will include a free performance by the band, as well as the unveiling of an art piece inspired by the new record that fifty Portland artists and small business collaborated on.
This being 2015, the band has already shared official videos for four of the record’s fourteen tracks, and I’ve included all of them below, along with a Colin Meloy solo performance of album opener and love letter to the band’s fans, “The Singer Addresses His Audience”.
Words: Donovan Farley
