My take on The Decemberists'-Hazards of Love

I'll give a little forward:
So, The Decemberists have been one of my favorite bands for years now. I believe that my infatuation with the band began back in junior year of high school. Quite a few of my very close friends share in this love as well.
There's something about the way I feel when listening to them. I suppose, that's the whole point of music in the first place, but it's special with this band. Lead singer/song-writer of the band, Colin Meloy, was a novelist before starting The Decemberists and has a undeniably descriptive way with words. I suppose it coincides with my fondness of Hemingway, as well.
It's not a simple task for me to truly express it into words, but I can kind of paint a picture...
It's like..Hmm okay, I'm sitting legs dangling over a large cliff with roaring seas crashing into it, likely somewhere on the British countryside--probably a century (maybe even two) back in time. Either that, or I'm permanently placed in an old movie or a musical--like, Oliver.
...And that, in short, is where my mind places itself when I'm listening to The Decemberists.


Well, I purchased the pre-release of their new album Hazards of Love a few days back.
Since it was nice out this afternoon, I decided to drive around the city aimlessly with my windows down. I figured it would be the perfect time to give the album a full listen through.
Blew my mind. It is a whole lot more progressive rock than what I am used to hearing from them. Or I mean, there are pretty heavy guitar riffs throughout (Blah, I'm not a fan of explaining genres).
I read that Colin Meloy had intended for it to be a "rock-opera"--to possibly be turned into a musical. I'm not sure whether or not that will happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did someday. I also read that he may be planning to play the album through when they go on tour, which I also think is a smart decision. It functions as a story, like some of their previous work, but Hazards of Love truly does. It's a mythical journey mostly centered around a character named Margret. It also has a fair amount of heavy female vocals on it, they put the singers from both My Brightest Diamond and Lavender Diamond on some of the tracks.
It may be a step in a different direction for one of my favorite bands, but truth be told, they can do no real wrong in my eyes. It's definitely not an album you skip around, I'm certain it was absolutely intended to be listened to in its entirety. Please buy it.