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The Decemberists – Florasongs
The Decemberists – Florasongs
Capitol Records – 2015
I caught The Decemberists at New York’s Radio City Music Hall a few weeks ago where they brought their usual concoction of handsome festal tunes to a sold out crowd of middle-aged white people. This isn’t a Kid Rock show, thank the fictitious Lord and/or Savior, but truth be told, the only folks of color here showed you your seats, handled security, or sold drinks. And it’s too bad because The Decemberists have soul, and they keep it real, just not in the boilerplated sense of the words.
Maybe bookish roots rock and sea shanties don’t invite diversity to the party. Perhaps they’d benefit from the Rattle & Hum treatment. It worked for U2, whose album of the same name introduced some much appreciated R&B into the Irish equation.
If you trust Pitchfork reviews (which I sometimes do) then you’d assume The Decemberists’ “proggy” Hazards of Love, REM-ish The King is Dead and latest record What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World were middle of the road pap by a songwriter whose best days are behind him – instead of what is actually happening here; that The Decemberists are on a creative roll. This may be of no interest to the hipster set hellbent on unearthing the next tertiary It-band.
Which leads us to the latest EP from Portland’s finest folkies. Florasongs, released Friday, is another in a line of tightly written yet unfussy hymns to the blessings and traps of devotion. With one exception, its five tracks are mid-tempo affairs that allow singer/songwriter Colin Meloy’s fey gravitas to blossom like a dried chrysanthemum in tea. Colin has a way with a phrase and melody that rivals the greats of any era, from Carol King to Michael Stipe with stops in-between.
Why Would I Now? isn’t going to get them a new audience. It’s not like 1989, Ryan Adams’ recent record covering the entirety of Taylor Swift’s album of the same name. The Decemberists aren’t looking for the kind of acceptance that drives some (certainly not all) of Ryan’s work. They’re more comfortable in their own weird Portlandish skin.
Riverswim follows their recent spate of hammock ready tunes that aren’t trying to knock you over the head with primitive cool. It’s campfire music for folks that use quiet moments to reminisce bitter-sweetly. It’s not about getting laid, being cool, or boasting about being number one. I don’t even think the track has a chorus – just a beautiful undulation that wouldn’t be out of place on Cracker’s Kerosene Hat.
Fits & Starts is the anomaly here – a low-fi punkish tune reminiscent of Monster-era REM. One may question the intentions duplicating the crunchy sound of the most divisive album of that band’s career, but it’s a welcome bit of experimentation that hopefully points to more in the future.
The Harrowed and the Haunted frankly owns me. If it doesn’t touch you, there’s nothing you can teach me.
Stateside ends the record in familiar territory, just Colin and guitar and that familiar longing for a connection.”Will you call when you touch down, when you come back around stateside?” It almost sounds like a demo, and one can imagine the band jumping in at any moment. Yet they don’t. They don’t have to. Occam’s razor trims away the darkness to reveal the light inside.
What’s missing here is some of the fun of their previous records, but you can, at least, find that in the marketing of this one. If you call 971-23-ALIVE, that is.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on writing your first book, presented by the Harlem chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Alongside Jim St. Germain, Author – A Stone of Hope: A Memoir and Dr. Keneshia Nicole Grant, Author – The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century. We opined on pain points, benefits and strategies regarding our inaugural voyages into authorship. Feel free to watch for your self and I hope this provides some insight to all those looking to make the same voyage. Enjoy!
