The Decemberists: The King Is Dead

Label: Capitol

Indie blockbuster! Noted wordsmith Colin Meloy and his anti-shock-troops, known in the past for their own particular brand of indie-folk bombast, come forth a little relaxed and confident on their sixth studio album. Then again, it's easy to feel confident when you've got R.E.M.'s Peter Buck sitting in on three songs -- two of which, "Calamity Song" and "Down by the Water," bear his stringed-DNA so clearly you'll instantly think of his band's '80s prime. The whole album is suffused with that atmosphere, easygoing but limned with a deeper emotionalism that feels decades old. Throughout, the Decemberists are firing on all acoustic cylinders: the full-on strumming of "Down by the Water" (which also features vocals from the sublime Gillian Welch), the worn-down but unbowed "June Hymn." Perhaps most important, the often too-wordy Meloy tones down the lyricism -- the album goes down real easy. The King Is Dead, long live the Decemberists.