As It Ever Was, So It Will Be

Description

The first dozen songs are punchy, pithy gems all, reflections on mortality and loneliness, longing and cynicism, expectation and unease. The band animates them brilliantly, pushing out and pulling in at the perfect moments. John Moen practically dances beneath the jangle of opener ‘Burial Ground’, breathing the life into this song about spiraling toward the end. From the irrepressible ‘Oh No!’ and guileless tenderness and absolute surrender of ‘All I Want Is You’, to the romantic ghost story that shimmers behind pedal steel in spite of the specter in ‘Long White Veil’, these 12 songs alone would constitute a dazzling Decemberists album, rich with woe and love, anxiety and honesty.

Tracklisting

Disc 1
1. Burial Ground – The Decemberists
2. Oh No! – The Decemberists
3. The Reapers – The Decemberists
4. Long White Veil – The Decemberists
5. William Fitzwilliam – The Decemberists
6. Don’t Go to the Woods – The Decemberists
7. The Black Maria – The Decemberists
8. All I Want Is You – The Decemberists
Disc 2
1. Born to the Morning – The Decemberists
2. America Made Me – The Decemberists
3. Tell Me What’s On Your Mind – The Decemberists
4. Never Satisfied – The Decemberists
5. Joan in the Garden – The Decemberists