The Decemberists

Remember that English teacher who inspired you at school? The one who made words leap off the page and into your lap through handpicked, dog-eared classics few curriculums would touch? The Decemberists bring the same hip literary bent to the realm of indie rock, spinning rich yarns about Spanish gypsies, Turkish streetwalkers, haggard seafarers, mythological heroes and villains, and cities lit up like a midnight sky in the heart of cow country.
Let your imagination be your guide, through the Decemberists' Next Steps.

You can practically smell the gunpowder as the Decemberists blow through songs like "Infanta" — an epic tale with a drum beat that explodes like cannons off the port bow, Andalusian guitar strings that slice as cleanly as Jack the Ripper's surgical kit, and keyboards swirling like the trade winds that carry the sailors in Colin Meloy's head. Speaking of the front man, we padded these Next Steps with spare, swampy tunes by his original college rock group, Tarkio.

Toss on a track from the Decemberists and you'll recognize it immediately, like a song played at your best friend's wedding. Not just because of Colin Meloy's commanding, soaring voice, either. Like any story worth its weight in ink, the group's songs aren't an armchair affair; they make for a completely interactive experience, like a great novel of spirited prose. And they're all backed by an orchestra of florid piano playing, grand percussion work, unfolding accordions, and rickety guitar chords that channel folk, sea shanties, and campfire sing-alongs.