 | Earn 2% eBay Bucks on qualifying purchases! Backed by eBay Buyer Protection Program. Terms and Conditions apply. (In-Stock) Audio Mixer: Tucker Martine.Recording information: Flora, Portland, OR; Pendarvis Farm, Happy Valley, OR; Sound Factory, Hollywood, CA.Illustrator: Carson Ellis.Photographer: Autumn de Wilde.The Decemberists' sixth, full-length studio outing finds the Portland, Oregon-based indie rock collective exploring a region that has thus far eluded them. Raised on a steady diet of Morrissey, Robyn Hitchcock, Shirley Collins, and Fairport Convention, The King Is Dead represents frontman Colin Meloy's first foray into the musical traditions of his homeland, or more specifically, it proves that he really, really likes R.E.M. "Calamity Song, " which is one of three tracks to feature guitar work from Peter Buck, threatens to break into "Pretty Persuasion" or "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" at any moment, and first single "Down by the River" flirts with "The One I Love" hard enough to take it on a long weekend, though Meloy has stated that the track "started out as more of a paean to R.E.M. than I think any of us really wanted | | SEE IT |