Her Majesty in Bloomington, MN

On
Her Majesty
,
the Decemberists
' follow-up to their excellent debut,
Castaways and Cutouts
, the group cements its reputation as a seafaring
Belle & Sebastian
or a more grounded
Neutral Milk Hotel
. Tying together sweet symphonic
pop
with a ragtag theatricality, this album is more ambitious and more scattered than
, making it an initially less accessible and more difficult listen. However, many of
's most indulgent moments are among its best, including the high drama of the album opener,
"Shanty for the Aretheusa,"
an epic that runs with the dark beauty that haunted the corners of
' debut and gives it a wild, rambling edge. Likewise,
"The Gymnast, High Above the Ground"
also displays the band's expertise at creating subtle but palpable drama and swooning romanticism with just a few musical brush strokes. The wonderfully named
"I Was Meant for the Stage,"
a triumphantly bittersweet song for the inner drama queen in everyone, shows off
Colin Meloy
's uniquely expressive voice: at one moment he's lispingly fey; the next, he's sneering self-deprecatingly. These beautiful, challenging songs make the band's occasional dips into treacle, such as the cloying
"Billy Liar,"
forgivable, but what makes
such a solid album is the consistent quality of the songs pitched between its high and low points.
"Los Angeles, I'm Yours"
flirts with
soft rock
, coming across as a latter-day single from
Al Stewart
;
"Your Red Right Ankle"
is an intimately and creatively detailed love song; and
"Song for Myla Goldberg"
has a sunny, winning appeal. Even though
isn't quite as striking and full-formed as
, it's still a consistently charming album that finds the band coming into its own. ~ Heather Phares