The Hazards of Love

8/10. I do really like it when Rock Operas actually have different singers for different characters, makes it a lot easier to follow. And there really isn't enough modern music about people getting fucked over by forest spirits, so this was an enjoyable listen for me.

This is why I still like to listen to the user albums. Sometimes there's an entrance which you just like. At first it sounded just folky but later there was also a rawness with heavy guitars and a kind of progressive feel also, especially the song 'The Wanting Comes in Waves/ Repaid' which I found quite appealing with that epic chorus. But they kept the quality going til the end. Chapeau!

My general issue with the Decemberists has been finding them too faux old-timey and leaning too heavy on affectation and quirk. The lyrical and musical leitmotifs and harder rock edges in this album did a lot to temper those tendencies, though my eyes still rolled a bit at some of the more bombastic murder-ballady stuff.

What a pleasant surprise to find one of my favorite cult bands here. It's not the album I would have chosen from their discography, but The Decemberists have always seemed to me like one of those bands incapable of making a mediocre or bad album. They've been getting closer and closer to pop, but I always saw it more as a natural evolution than as a pretense to reach more people. And their latest albums are just as enjoyable. Even more so, in fact. Great thanks to whoever posted it for giving me this joyful time on the streets of Basel

I wish they'd go hard more than they go pretty, and I wish they'd altogether avoid going twangy.

Well-executed concept with three different singers taking on the main characters - seems obvious, but seldom done. Very pastoral and folky in concept story with a good balance of rock and folk. Choice cut: The Waiting Comes In Waves (very Beatles, strong rock riff).

It's like a rock opera fairytale. Usually I listen these albums during my car commute. And so I did with this. But it gave me the urge to listen it again, with the lyrics in front of me to really get the full story.

Love the Decemberists and love this album. 5 stars.

I have a couple Decemberists' songs on playlist, but I had never listened through this album. Who doesn't love a smashing concept album?!?

I’ve listened to this album many times just this year alone. It’s not perfect by any means but is so ambitious that I find it to be one of the Decemberists’ best. It’s a proggy folk rock album that follows the story of a doomed couple. Shara Nova’s guest vocals alone are worth the price of entry.

This started out as almost too generic 2000s indie rock but man it really picked up in the middle third. Leaned more into garage rock stuff then ended with some country-type stuff all with great lyrics and great vocals. I guess the later parts of the album being stronger makes sense with the concept since it starts as kinda bland happy music when the couple meets then pretty intense grungy stuff as they argue with the Queen and deal with the other lady then bittersweet at the end when they drown themselves. So pretty cool from that perspective. Wanting comes in waves and hazards of love 4 were my favs which are also the two biggest plot points I guess. The more I listened the more I loved this actually. Like I can’t stop listening to it now.

The ultra rare album where the closing track may be the best one?

Yeah. Really strong narrative sound, although maybe a song or 2 too many.

Definitely a really strong showing. I had considered proposing the Decemberists to the user list, though i put both Picaresque and The Crane Wife ahead of this. This is still very cool as it continues the theaterical story telling of their style. Well written, and i enjoy Colin Meloy's delivery. The tracks are a little bit more uneven, feeling more like the musical that has a handful of filler or connecting songs to get you from one point of the story to the next, but the effort to make a banger was not there. Still, The Wanting Comes in Waves, The Rake's Song, and Hazards of Love 4 are all fantastic, and the album is engaging. Enjoyed!

A perfect antidote to the atrocities and horrors of faux Irish hey-ho stomp pop that took over the airwaves for a while there.

I love a good concept album, and this is really good! Having the different singers singing specific parts in the story works really well. I really enjoyed the ride. Nice to hear that in the world of streaming the concept album is alive and well. Terrific!

Amazing. So good. I teared up a couple of times. Thank you!

A nice sound here.

What a crazy story! This means, even if I wouldn't put this on regular play, I loved it as the epic rock opera it is.

Love this album. Could have nominated it myself. It’s only negative is that is needs Wikipedia to explain the plot fully

Love this one

It's slow getting off the bat, but it really gets going. I've said I'm not a fan of the silence that extends into the minutes when an album is starting up. The only use case where this works is if the listener has put the needle on the record and is going to get a beer before sitting down to listen. I'm still sticking to that... However, the Wanting Comes in Waves does need an instrumental to follow it. BTW - is there a guide that says a rock opera needs to have organ music. Seems all of them do.... The guitar picking on Margaret in Captivity sounds like Wanted Dead or Alive

A folky rock opera with three different vocalists, each playing a different character. I enjoyed listening and would like to revisit to pay more attention to the story. Rating: 4 Playlist track: The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned) Date listened: 20/09/24

Good album with nice indiepop songs. I like their earlier work (Castaways and Cutouts, Picaresque, The Crane Wife) better. Still this album also contains several impressive songs with well written lyrics.

Ah, The Decemberists! Some Indie rock I actually enjoy, albeit in small doses. I don’t love their highbrow conceptual stuff so much as their aching lyrically rich ditties. There’s poetry and delicate instrumentation and yearning indie ennui aplenty here. It’s solid. Not the Decemberists album I would have chosen, but, I’m so glad they’ve been entered into the arena.

Ljúft indie með bittersweet textum. Fíla vel.

surprinsingly not their best album imo but very good band

Portland shanties

I tried the crane wife years ago and just didn't get it. I think this is successfully my 'in'. I found it more muscular and compelling and I really enjoyed it's slightly OTT pleasures. Sprawling concept album yes please!

"Picaresque" is one of my favorite albums, but I've never bothered to check out the rest of the Decemberists' catalogue, so this was a fun listen. Interesting rock opera, way more proggy than I expected. Very "Central European fairytale"-esque plot. Cool pick!

This was perfect for a snowy day. Creative, zen, harmonious, quiet. Excellent stuff.

Used to like them in college. But it always feels a bit one-dimensional.

Hazards lacks some of the titular hazards as it rounds the generational line and covers the wide American musical landscape. The twangle achieves full body as country music at the end, something that may have been a more complete feel for the album.

Not bad 3

A rock opera with folk-based instrumentation and vocals (reminds me of Neutral Milk Hotel and Fleet Foxes), country and metal touches, classic 2000s indie energy (like Arcade Fire), and an enveloping atmosphere that creates tension and drives the story. I like how the songs are strung together and flow seamlessly between each other, as well as the reoccurring themes that are spun with new twists to keep the record fresh and familiar. The interludes are nice to give breaks between the intensity and loudness of most tracks. I didn't like how rambly this album was compared to their others. I found the melodies less interesting (for the most part), and less emotion and soul in the vocals. It reminds me a lot of overly-commercial 90s alt rock. Picaresque had much stronger songs. This album has some highlights too, but with how scattered the tracks move around, it's hard to have the same impact. Great for a rock opera, and suited for an enveloping story with quality music. Favorites: The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid, The Rake's Song, The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing

An epic that I'm not quite sure I fully get on first listen – this is an expansive, sprawling album that deserved much more attention than I could give it today, though I already picked up on the superb melodic motifs gluing the whole project together. This is an LP that weaves its narrative in words, and there's a whole lot of them here – while I picked up on some of the story occurring throughout, I'm sure the album feels much more cohesive once the story falls into place. Leaving this here as an initial voucher for the great instrumentation (somewhat shanty-esque at points) and melodies, with a rider that I'll be returning to give this a deeper listen.

My divorce fucked me up so badly that I went through an intense Decemberists phase. I bought more Decemberists songs than should have been allowed from iTunes. None are from this album, however. I was more into The Crane Wife era Decemberists, and even saw them live. Once. I've never felt so judged. People would come up to me and say, "Oh Big Dawg. Who are you, trying to push this pretentious music on all of your friends? What happened to the guy I know who worked blue and made mix tapes with Kiss songs? Maybe you should get back together with your ex-wife." That didn't happen. Yet. Matthew Weiner must have gone through a Decemberists phase, too. He oddly used a Decemberists song during a scene in a season 2 episode of Mad Men. The only time he didn't use a period era song. He eventually got divorced, too. Nothing lasts.

Train ride at sunset material. Thanks for the suggestion

Nice

Folk rock, progressive rock, art rock, folk metal. Ni fu ni fa.

I wasn't particularly inclined to like this, but it was really good. This a well crafted, thematically compelling concept album/rock opera, with several songs that are strong enough to stand on their own. Manages to fit in neatly with the sound of the time in which it was made, while drawing as well on prog and folk rock influences that give it a hint of a vintage vibe. Yes, this could have been 2-3 songs shorter, but I enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing. Fave Songs: The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid, The Hazards of Love 4, Won't Want for Love, The Hazards of Love 2, The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing

This was fine to me. Nothing really amazing, just seemed like a hipster album with a story intertwined. I’d say that the devemberists are one modern band in a style of music I like but none of their songs have really wowed me. Doubtful this would be revisited but it’s not bad. 6.1/10

Rating: 6/10

Enjoyed this good rock opera, like the different vocalist for different characters brings it to life more.

Cute

Didn't like it

Interesting Indie concept album and if I had time to listen to the lyrics/story I may have gotten more out of it, but as someone else said, they are too one dimensional in their sound

No, not this. 2/5.

It was ok. Just kind of there. The dial didn't move much.