Biography

The Decemberists treat history and fabulism as pop fuel, spinning tales of mariners, legionnaires, and soot-stained romance.

Colin Meloy’s vocabulary-heavy verses ride on Jenny Conlee’s keyboards and John Moen’s precise drumming.

College-radio faithful and NPR listeners alike found common ground in their melodic ambition.

High-quality streams separate accordion registers, acoustic fingerpicks, and horn stabs that dense mixes can obscure.

New Clear Radio streams curated rock-focused programming with quality up to 320kbps—ideal for hearing guitar-driven records with depth and punch.

At a glance

  • American indie folk band formed in Portland, Oregon in 2000.
  • Albums such as Picaresque (2005) and The Crane Wife (2006) expanded their narrative orchestrations.
  • Primary songwriter and frontman Colin Meloy previously played in the band Tarkio.