The Decemberists

The Decemberists的艺人档案 The Decemberists，十二月党，来自于 Portland, Oregon, United States的Indie Rock, Chamber Pop, Indie Pop,Progressive folk 5人乐队.成员分别是Colin Meloy,Chris Funk,Jenny Conlee,Nate Query,John Moen. 　　   他们的名字源自于俄国乐队Decembrist Revolt 和与12月相关联的某些氛围.(=.=不会翻译the atmosphere associated with the month of December).他们的歌曲曲风多变.从upbeat pop 到 lush ballads.他们经常会使用一些像手风琴这样的乐器.在歌词创作方面,他们避免了那些和现代摇滚乐队取材相同的内容,诸如愤怒,焦虑或者自我反省. 取而代之的是他们具有叙事风格的歌词.比如下面这几句歌词. "My mother was a Chinese trapeze artist / In pre-war Paris / Smuggling bombs for the underground" (选自歌曲 "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist", 专集5 Songs) 和 "We are two mariners / Our ships'' sole survivors / In this belly of a whale / Its ribs our ceiling beams / Its guts our carpeting / I guess we have some time to kill" ("The Mariner''s Revenge Song", 选自专集 Picaresque). 他们的歌讲述的传说故事从怪异的"Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"到史诗风格的("The Tain") .他们常调用从世界各地搜罗来的传说故事. 早期, The Decemberists的音乐和歌词内容经常被评论家与 Neutral Milk Hotel相比较. 从他们的首次演出开始他们的歌就一直处于演变和发展中,比较显著的就是他们虽深受folk的影响但却一直没有停下向progressive rock转变的脚步 　　 The Decemberists今年的新专辑《The Crane Wife》（鹤妻）便是以此为主题，专辑旋律轻松悦耳，歌词中度情节，依旧具备强烈的画面感，Colin Meloy熟悉的嗓音，还是原来的十二月人，还是那些熟悉的记忆。 　　 十二月人核心Colin Meloy曾经在Tarkio担任主唱，在2oo1和其他四位成员组成The Decemberists，目前在独立乐坛有着挺响光的名气。 　　 The Decemberists有着他们独特的魅力，其中最大的因素应该是Colin Meloy“文人系诗人”的派别称号， Colin Meloy这位来自美国密苏里州的文学学士凭借其文学修养为我们带来一个个包罗万象、光怪陆离的故事。在他们EP《5 Songs》低调走民谣路线，Colin Meloy也以平民质朴的精神在传唱；到了首张专辑《Castaways and Cutouts》，民谣主调加上怪异歌词的调味，但是这次有所不同的是，专辑体现的音乐性不再是低调的民谣而已，The Decemberists明白高调才是王道，所以曲风呈现丰富多元，出现鼓点激烈的快歌，出现钢琴带奏的轻诉，还有Colin Meloy歪歪斜斜的声线，《Castaways and Cutouts》给当时的乐迷带来了巨大的惊喜；之后的一张《Her Majesty》似乎又回到了原点，低调低调低调，在上一张专辑的出色表现之后浅尝辄止，专辑呈现了一种被孤寂凄迷的情感包围， Colin Meloy的声音又真实而神情，其实表现的很好，只是我个人偏好他们的荒诞；2oo4年发行的单曲EP《Tain》，像是一场盛大的摇滚歌剧，哦不，或许该被称为狂欢剧，现场感十足的Colin Meloy带来了一张全新的十二月人专辑，也带来了未来乐队无限的可能；在去年的专辑《Picaresque》中，回看十二月人一路走来的痕迹，似乎是一个未完成大小双峰模型图一样，而《Picaresque》正是在那个未知的峰顶，已经不再低调民谣的十二月人在《Picaresque》中加入了更多的音乐元素，同时也穿上了流行的外衣，专辑十分容易入耳，却也依旧保持了一贯的耐听，难得难得，更多人指责他们太过相似的曲风，缺乏摇滚激情的时候，我看到的是一个固执、坚持、独立的Colin Meloy和十二月人，以及他们抿着嘴朝你歪歪的坏笑。 　 　乐队The Decemberists来自美国俄勒冈州的Portland，目前已经发行了三张专辑和一张EP，歌曲风格是自己非常钟情的Indie Pop/Indie Rock。 　 　乐队由五名成员组成，他们分别是：Colin Meloy/Chris Funk/Jenny Conlee/Nate Query/ John Moen,其中核心人物是素有“文人系诗人”之美称的Colin Meloy。 The Decemberists Led by Colin Meloy, the Decemberists are a five-piece outfit whose pop sound has been compared to the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel and Belle & Sebastian. Meloy, who hails from Missoula, MT, is the main songwriter for the group, whose initial lineup consisted of Ezra Holbrook on drums, Nate Query on bass, Jenny Conlee on keyboards and accordion, and Chris Funk on theremin and pedal steel guitar. Frontman Meloy, who also held a degree in creative writing, previously devoted some time to an alternative country group before breaking off to pursue his craft as a singer/songwriter in the city of Portland, a period that eventually led to the Decemberists'' formation. Before Hush Records released the Decemberists'' first album in 2002, the group put out an EP of five tracks. Their full-length debut, Castaways and Cutouts, was re-released that same year on the Kill Rock Stars label, and the band began to accumulate a serious fan base. After adding organist and keyboardist Rachel Blumberg to the group, in 2003 the Decemberists released Her Majesty, another fine collection of theatrical indie pop with British folk sensibilities that further cemented their growing reputation as a band to watch. The next year the five-part epic EP The Tain, based on the eighth century Irish poem of the same name, came out, followed by their third full-length, Picaresque, in 2005. The group, who at this point consisted of Meloy, Conlee, Query, Funk, and drummer John Moen, made the move to the majors (Capitol Records) for 2006''s The Crane Wife, which managed to hit number 35 on the Billboard 200, and even grabbed the attention of comedian/actor Stephen Colbert, who challenged Funk to a guitar solo competition during a live taping of his show, The Colbert Report.