The Decemberists Release New Album 'As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again'
As It Ever Was, So it Will Be Again is the band’s 9th studio album after a 6 year hiatus.
By: Josh Sharpe Jun. 14, 2024
The Decemberists have today released their long awaited new album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again via YABB Records (Thirty Tigers). As It Ever Was, So it Will Be Again is the band’s 9th studio album after a 6 year hiatus. The remarkable double album is produced by lead-singer Colin Meloy and Tucker Martine and features guest appearances from The Shins’ James Mercer and REM’s Mike Mills.
In celebration of the release, the band has announced Rumpus At Rev Hall — a sold out live event happening tonight in their hometown of Portland, OR (and across the World Wide Web via a special livestream). The band will take the stage at Revolution Hall at 8pm PT and will play a full set with songs from the new album as well as some classics. The event will also have numerous other booths, crafts and interactive fun. For those unable to join in person, the band is pleased to offer a livestream of the event via VEEPS. All livestream tickets - which are on-sale now - will include on-demand viewing for a limited time. Find more details HERE.
Tomorrow, the band will hold a very special album signing at Music Millenium in Portland on Saturday, June 15th at 2PM PT.
Fans of The Decemberists can also tune into CBS Saturday Morning next Saturday, June 22 for a special performance and interview with the band.
The band will kick off another run of North American tour dates in Bend, OR on July 12. The tour will include two nights at The Bellwether in LA and stops in Oakland, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle & more. A full rundown can be found below.
For 20 years The Decemberists have been one of the most original, daring, and thrilling American rock bands. Founded in the year 2000 when singer, songwriter, and guitarist Colin Meloy moved from Montana to Portland, Oregon and met bassist Nate Query, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, and guitarist Chris Funk, The Decemberists’ distinctive brand of hyperliterate folk-rock set them apart from the start with the release of their debut EP 5 Songs in 2001. After making their full-length debut with Castaways and Cutouts in 2002, the band signed with Kill Rock Stars for the release of the acclaimed albums Her Majesty the Decemberists (2003) and Picaresque (2005), which was produced by Chris Walla. The 2004 EP The Tain – an 18-minute single-track epic – made the band’s grand creative ambitions clear.
Around this time the band’s permanent line-up fell into place with the arrival of drummer John Moen, and they made the unexpected leap to Capitol Records for their first major label album in 2006. Fans’ concerns of whether the band would alter their trademark sound quickly vanished when they delivered their most ambitious and audacious record to date in The Crane Wife, a song cycle produced by Walla and Tucker Martine (who would become a longtime creative partner) that added elements of ‘70s prog, hard rock and even quasi-disco to their palette. The album was met by wide acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Stereogum, and was named Best New Music by Pitchfork.
Three years later, The Hazards of Love – a full-length concept album based on Meloy’s idea for a stage musical - was a Top 20 hit. In 2011, they topped themselves yet again with their first #1 album, The King Is Dead, which featured the GRAMMY-nominated song “Down By The Water.” After their 2015 album What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World, which included the #1 AAA radio hit “Make You Better,” The Decemberists changed up their sound and explored new approaches to making music on their eighth studio album I’ll Be Your Girl (2018) with producer John Congleton. NPR Music wrote “Every band needs to refresh and reconsider its sound sooner or later, no matter how sharp it's gotten over the course of a long career — even The Decemberists, a band whose records have always come bursting with verve... I'll Be Your Girl captures a collaborative spirit that keeps the band sounding vibrant and alive.”
The Decemberists have toured the world, performed at countless major festivals, and even founded Travelers’ Rest, a festival of their own curation in Missoula, Montana. The band has appeared on The Simpsons, collaborated with Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, and released their own crowd-funded board game Illimat. Colin Meloy is also the author of The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid and the New York Times bestselling Wildwood Chronicles as well as two picture books, The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger and Everyone’s Awake. Meloy’s Wildwood Series is currently being made into an animated feature starring Carey Mulligan, Mahershela Ali, Angela Bassett, Jermaine Clement, Tom Waits and more.
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again Track Listing:
- Burial Ground
- Oh No!
- The Reapers
- Long White Veil
- William Fitzwilliam
- Don’t Go to the Woods
- The Black Maria
- All I Want Is You
- Born to the Morning
- America Made Me
- Tell Me What’s on Your Mind
- Never Satisfied
- Joan in the Garden
Tour Dates:
- co-bill w/ The Head And The Heart ^
-w/ Special Guest Ratboys unless noted with a “*”
June 14: Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
July 12: Bend, OR - Hayden Homes Amphitheater^
July 13: Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
July 14: Los Angeles, CA - The Bellwether - SOLD OUT
July 15: Los Angeles, CA - The Bellwether
July 18: San Diego, CA - Humphrey’s - SOLD OUT
July 19: Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
July 20: Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
July 22: Santa Fe, NM - The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing - SOLD OUT
July 23: Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
July 24: Sandy, UT - Sandy Amphitheater
July 26: Missoula, MT - Kettlehouse Amphitheater
July 27: Spokane, WA - Spokane Pavilion
July 29: Vancouver, BC - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
July 31: Seattle, WA - Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre* - SOLD OUT
August 1: Seattle, WA - Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre* - SOLD OUT
August 2: Bellingham, WA - Mount Baker Theatre
August 3: Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield*
August 25: London, UK - All Points East
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
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