Meloy is ready to embrace Dublin ‘homecoming'
Irish music has been a backdrop to life of The Decemberists storytelling frontman
Portland indie outfit The Decemberists are back on Irish shores this weekend in support of their latest album, I’ll Be Your Girl.
Ahead of their show in Dublin’s Vicar Street on Sunday night, frontman Colin Meloy revealed how Irish music has been a huge influence on the band, which formed 18 years ago.
“It’s always nice to have our first show in Dublin,” he said.
“I grew up in a family that has really embraced its Irish roots,
Montana where I come from, has quite a sizeable immigrant Irish population.
“My family was big into the music that was happening in the 60’s and the 70’s and particularly the folk revival and bands like The
Chieftains and De Danann.
“So Irish music and stories have been kind of ever present for me.”
He added: “Outside of that influence I have my own leanings towards Irish music which actually really started happening when I started getting into punk-rock and new-wave and bands like The Pogues and The Waterboys.
With I’ll Be Your Girl, The Decemberists – lead vocalist and guitarist Meloy, guitarist Chris
Funk, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query, and drummer John Moen – explore new approaches to making music and broaden their sonic range.
The band’s eighth and latest fulllength album I’ll Be Your Girl is the sound of a veteran band finding new inspiration, a unit unafraid of challenging itself to re-connect with its creativity.
“With this album at least from my perspective I feel we erased the comfortable and familiar environments of albums passed and replaced them with a space in which we felt that we could make some different decisions,” said Meloy.
“I think we did and I think that we achieved something.”
The Decemberists enjoy a strong following on both sides of the Atlantic.
Perhaps it’s the storytelling aspect of the bands music that strikes a chord with their Irish fans in particular.
“My lyrical inspiration comes from all over the place,” explained Meloy.
“If I’m in a bind and feel like I’m out of ideas then often I’ll just immerse myself in other people’s music, books and in movies, receiving input as much as I possibly can.
“As an artist you rely so much on your predecessors and yet have an urge to leave your own imprint on the world and so you take what you can from what has come before you and you try and build on it in a way that seems right.
The Portland rockers formed just after the fall of the grunge era in the North-western United States.
They have embraced influences such as Roxy Music and New Order to spark a new creative path, as can be heard on the synth-driven lead single Severed, which is available now to stream or download.
“Grunge hit when I was a teenager, I couldn’t avoid it.
“I was into more melodic stuff, particularly at that time, I think I needed more melody and less raging guitars I guess.
“When I moved to Portland in the late 90’s the bottom had fallen out of that whole scene and there were so many musical casualties in both Seattle and Portland, people who had kind of been swept up in that explosion and had then kind of been left behind.
“People were reeling from situations like demo deals with major labels that never really panned out, and other empty promises of fame and fortune.”
An early emphasis was put on the band’s live show by Meloy and co.
Decemberists’ gigs are well know for their interactive qualities, audience participation is a common occurrence yet the band are careful to avoid it become a contrived experience.
“I think from the outset we never really wanted to do anything that felt overly choreographed or orchestrated.
"The live shows I loved and the attitudes that sat well with me growing up came from the bands that didn’t really seem to care.
Bands who embraced the mistakes and let things kind of fall apart if they were going to fall apart.”
Meloy added: “In order to make the show interesting for us, rather than doing the same thing every night, it’s much for fun for us to create these moments in the show that feel fun and full of new energy.”
Irish fans can expect some of that same energy at The
Decemberists gig at Vicar Street on Sunday November 4.
tickets priced €36.50 on sale now through www. ticketmaster.ie and usual outlets nationwide.