Colin Meloy Descends Even Further Into Fey British Prog-Folk On New Decemberists Album; Free Download Avail.

Decemberism: n. A mental condition that causes 30-something American male rock songwriters to relapse to a state of their own early adolescence that is marked by a preoccupation with fantasy, Anglophilia, knights, maidens, The Hobbit and the British folk revival of the late 1960s.

Or maybe I’m just projecting. After all, judging by the latest word from the Decemberists‘ camp, it sounds like frontman Colin Meloy has been living my life, circa 1993-95. Saith yon herald:

The Decemberists’ Hazards of Love set for March 24 release.

The album began when Meloy — long fascinated by the British folk revival of the 1960s — found a copy of revered vocalist Anne Briggs’s 1966 EP, titled The Hazards of Love. Since there was actually no song with the album’s title, he set out to write one. Soon he was immersed in something much larger than just a new composition.

The Hazards Of Love tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came “to be living so easy and free” in the aforementioned “The Rake’s Song.” [Editor’s interjection: Wow, poor Margaret got ravaged by a lot of people!] Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden deliver the lead vocals for the female characters, while My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Robyn Hitchcock and the Spinanes’ Rebecca Gates appear in supporting roles. The range of sounds reflects the characters’ arcs, from the accordion’s singsong lilt in “Isn’t it a Lovely Night?” to the heavy metal thunder of “The Queen’s Rebuke/The Crossing.”

“There’s an odd bond between the music of the British folk revival and classic metal,” says Meloy. “A natural connection between, like, Fairport Convention and Black Sabbath — of course, Sandy Denny from Fairport even sang with Led Zeppelin on ‘The Battle of Evermore.’ I think there’s a shared sense of narrative and ambience, of moving beyond the first person in your writing. And I thought it would be interesting to mess around with that.”

And with that, my 14-year-old self just became B.F.F. with Meloy (though I always thought Sabbath had more in common with a band like Jethro Tull — NERD ALERT). And, I’ll add, it’s unfortunate that the De’ists don’t have anyone with the guitar chops of Richard Thompson or the voice of Sandy Denny. But waste ye no more time here, roving minstrels, hie thee to Decemberists.com and download the new track, “The Rake’s Song.” (You’ll have to fork over your e-mail address.)