“Marrying the idea of death to an upbeat, singalong chorus has always been interesting”: This band love sneaking prog into record collections

The Decemberists.

Death, Billy Joel and angelic visitations are just three of the ingredients that shaped The Decemberists’ 2024 album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. That year vocalist Colin Meloy discussed creativity being a form of hallucination, sneaking prog into the record collections of unsuspecting listeners, and why you have to earn the long songs.

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