The Decemberists are back with a new track, and this one comes from the movies. It soundtracks the stop-motion adaptation of Wildwood, the fantasy novel Colin Meloy wrote for the teen and preteen crowd, set in his home turf of Portland and illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis.
If you only know Meloy as the bookish frontman behind belters like "The Mariner's Revenge Song," this is a nice reminder the guy builds whole worlds. Wildwood was the first in his chronicles. Now it's a movie, and of course the band shows up on the soundtrack.
This is the kind of move that fits their whole arc, from The Crane Wife in 2006 through the sprawling folk-rock epics that made them indie lifers. Meloy has always written like a storyteller first. A fantasy adaptation feels inevitable.
The new track is a gem, and it lands the band squarely in a new era without losing the old magic.
The Decemberists making a children's fantasy film sing: deeply on brand.