AS IT EVER WAS, SO IT WILL BE AGAIN

As June closes and July opens, we will get a whole lot more summer releases. It makes sense that a lot of albums are released around times that are as sunny as they can get. It is, of course, befitting after all. Funnily enough, the release that I was sort of off and on anticipating in hype for this year comes from a band that you wouldn't really expect to release something in the summer. However their music is genuinely pretty, well...sunny, so releasing an album in June was to be expected honestly for The Decemberists (funnily enough too they never released an album in December. How quaint.)

The Decemberists are kind of hard to fit into a specific genre. They are definitely folk and at the very least rock, but what kinda folk and rock they kinda are flip flops. In some cases they are more rooted in the more accessible indie pop genres, while in others, such as this one, they can pull out some pretty effective progressive folk stylings that seem almost like a love letter to bands like Jethro Tull. Heck, before this came out, their latest release of I'll Be Your Girl was them at their most poppy, utilizing synthpop as a base. They may not be as varied as groups like Radiohead or King Gizzard, but each release has its own charms that make them quite distinct. Here, we get the band at arguably their most progressive leaning since The Hazards of Love and even The Tain. However, it is progressive in a different way.

Unlike previous records that had aspects of rock operas and epics, As It Ever Was feels like a love letter to the alternative prog scene, particularly of the styles that The Dear Hunter utilizes in their music. However, it isn't a rip off of their sound, as they still implement their own quirky senses into the sound, and it is obviously a lot more folk than straight up alt rock. However, listening to (my personal favorite track) Oh No, you can definitely see a connection. I really enjoy this, as it not only makes the band's sounds feel more varied than they ever were, it makes the whole music world feel even more connected. I just love shared interests, is all.

I also really like how the band makes these songs feel like actual folk melodies that'd be sung back in the olden times, especially with how singable they are. Colin Meloy does always kind of have this distinction in his voice that makes his songs have this very americana charm, but here I just want to sing along more than. Especially to Long White Veil. If Oh No is my favorite on a more musical level, Long White Veil is my favorite on a singable level. It is insanely catchy, and just singing along to the lyrics, despite how bleak they are, just makes me grin from ear to ear. I honestly am sometimes amazed by how well made The Decemberists songs can get on repeated listens. Guess that goes with all music really, but this band certainly has their charm.

Of course, this is all without mentioning the big elephant of the room, that being the 19 minute epic of Joan in the Garden. In all honesty, this track is stellar. It goes back to some of their roots off of their first record, Castaways and Cutouts, having this very direct chamber folk feeling, mixed in with newer found aspects of progressive rock, country music, and hell, even post rock. It all ends up creating this piece of music that feels like an experience that they could've easily made as its own thing, much like what they did with their similar epic of The Tain, but the fact it is on here, and as a closing track for this very impressive album alone makes this easily one of the best songs on here.

Though...it is also the reason why I cannot say this record is a masterpiece, and it's all because of that droning section. It shows up at the 9 minute mark, so about half way, and goes on until nearly the 16 minute mark. In a way, it does feel like the band's attempt at making something similar to Echoes, or even Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd, as those songs too have their own weird droning sections, so it would be quite befitting for this record to have its own fun. I mean, if Marillion and IQ can make their own versions of Supper's Ready, why not make our own version of Echoes? The problem though is those drones off of Echoes were pretty quick all things considered, and after they finished the remaining minutes were spent well on building up to the climatic finish and reprisal of the lyrical section. Here though, we get seven straight minutes of drones and weird noises and then an immediate hard cut to the climatic finisher. If I could change this track in any way, I would like to shorten the drones by about 2 minutes, and with that empty amount of time, add in some kind of short build up to the ending, just to make it feel even more impactful and stellar. What we have now is still super great, but it's not amazing. Hell, when I first heard the track I was kind of disappointed, with me thinking this album wasn't worth reviewing because of it. I have grown more favorable of it though, and even have kind of a soft spot for the drones. Still, they overstay their welcome a bit.

Of course I really love this record. It may not be a five star masterpiece, but I bet it may be in my top five for this year if I don't end up with a whole collection of masterpieces by the end of all this. If not, definitely the top ten. The band definitely knows how to cook, and they cooked a pretty great meal. Certainly check this one out if you are into more alternative groups, and prog folk in general.

Best tracks: Oh No!, Long White Veil, Joan in the Garden

Worst track: All I Want Is You