Pitchfork: The Decemberists Enter Studio with Chris Walla

The Decemberists Enter Studio with Chris Walla
"Hey, can you take us in more of a Red Shirt Brigade/Rocky Votolato direction? Hahahahaha."

Hold onto your monocles: Those lovably literate lads The Decemberists have announced plans to return to the studio to record the follow-up to last year's quite corking LP, Her Majesty The Decemberists. According to a post from frontman Colin Meloy on the band's official website, the Pacific Northwestern troubadours have written more than just a handful of new songs, and are gearing up to set them to tape with Death Cab multi-instrumentalist and all-around hotshot producer Chris Walla, with the intent of having the finished product in sweaty little record stores around the country come February or March of next year. With luck, its lyrics should be rife with archaic nautical imagery, as per the band's previous work, or else we music writers may be forced to, you know, get all "creative."

In the meantime, The Decemberists are more than happy to offer an appetizer to their forthcoming grande feaste, and are putting the finishing touches on it as we type. The foode in question is a CD single for the Her Majesty fan-fave "Billy Liar". In addition to the title track (obviously), the single will also include-- for whatever reason-- the album version of "Los Angeles, I'm Yours". Ahh, but the news does get better, as two additional tracks which were recorded during the Her Majesty sessions are set for inclusion: "Sunshine", which has never been released in any form, and "Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right", which, until the single's Kill Rock Stars-established release date of Septembre 13th, will only have been available on the label's recent double-disc compilation, Tracks and Fields.

Additionally, despite having already spent a good portion of 2004 on tour, The Decemberists are going to brave the harsh elements of a Weste Coaste summer for a cute little mini-tour in Septembre. Three of the dates will be part of the Kill Rock Stars Traveling Revue, which will see the group playing with Pitchfork faves Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof, as well as The Gossip and Mecca Normal. And did we mention their performance on Septembre 4th at Bend, Oregon's Les Schwab Amphitheater, at which they'll be opening for the goddamned Pixies? Well, we did now. The Decemberists are also planning a jaunt to the UK, likely in October, but as we don't have the Euro dates yet, feast your Yankee eyes on these delectable delights:

08-06 Portland, OR - Nocturnal
09-04 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Ampitheater (w/Pixies)
09-09 Seattle, WA - Neumos (w/Xiu Xiu, The Gossip, Deerhoof, The Punks)
09-10 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater (w/Xiu Xiu, The Gossip, Deerhoof)
09-11 Olympia, WA - Eagle's Hall (w/Deerhoof, Mecca Normal, Xiu Xiu)

And finally, as we have previously reported more than once, Meloy's ruminations on his wasted youth and its relationship to The Replacements' classic album Let It Be is being published by Continuum Press as part of their 33 1/3 series. It will be on bookshelves and inside man-purses everywhere August 16th.