2009 March | University of San Diego Radio

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March 29th, 2009 nick No comments

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“The Hazards of Love” The Decemberists album review by Peter Cho

March 26th, 2009 peter No comments

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

“The Hazards of Love” is The Decemberists’ latest 17-track foray into folk rock storytelling. “Hazards” is their fifth album and it attempts to break traditional barriers of music and plays more like a continuous fairy tale rather than a collection of songs. I would recommend listening to it in one sitting before passing judgment. (Although it is a bit taxing to sit and listen to the album straight for 58 minutes and 36 seconds.)

The album revolves around a cast of characters who live near a forest, including a woman named Margaret and her lover William, “a shape-shifting forest dweller.” It features love, murder and a myriad of other plot elements rarely seen in music. This is not an album that will be spawning many singles or catchy Billboard hits. Rather, what’s audible is a story with charming tracks that attempt to capture the listener’s imagination.

“The Hazards of Love” follows three years after the release of “The Crane Wife,” which was widely accepted by critics as one of the band’s best efforts and was named the Best Album of 2006 by listeners of National Public Radio. There are a few parallels, with “The Crane Wife” also being related to a Japanese folk tale and somewhat narrative-based.

This is not an album you can listen to while working out or at a party. Just like you wouldn’t drink a glass of cabernet at a kegger (I pray that none of you ever do), “Hazards” has its place in the musical listen-o-sphere, and its place is located in the part of your day when you’re in the mood to listen to fairy tales of shape-shifting forest dwellers, a forest queen and the drama that ensues.

All kidding aside, the album is not entirely strange shuffled around, but it definitely has to be listened to in order at least once to make any sort of sense. With this in mind, standout tracks include “The Rake’s Song,” “Isn’t it a Lovely Night” and “The Wanting Comes in Waves.”

I applaud The Decemberists’ effort in making an album that breaks traditional molds and takes a step farther towards weird than mainstream bands do. “Hazards” is an enjoyable forest romp (did I just say that?) that might tickle your music bone and make you wonder what exactly a shape-shifting forest dweller is doing dwelling in a forest.

Categories: USD Radio Tags: Album, Peter Cho, Review, The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love

“Nebo Records” March 23rd by Nick Peterson

March 23rd, 2009 nick No comments

"Welcome to Nelson" EP By Peter Nixon

2001 brought me an old, electric guitar with broken pickups. I traded Robert Millsap a black and white computer monitor for it. That was the second best trade of my life–haulin in a 6 oz. slammer on the Meadow Ridge Elementary playground was #1, but that’s another story. After that trade though, a decade long love affair was born between the six stringed, fine neck and I. I’ve been writing and playing since. The “Welcome to Nelson” EP was written in the woods of Northeastern, Washington in 2008–where I was born and raised. It’s one of the last sacred places on this rock.
If you like it, you can download the full album for
free, Free, FREE Right Here

And you can check out my record label project, Nebo Records
Right here

Thanks, Enjoy