I'll Be Your Girl
Studio album by
The Decemberists
ReleasedMarch 16, 2018 (2018-03-16)
Genre
Length43:06
Label
ProducerJohn Congleton
The Decemberists chronology
The Queen of Hearts
(2017)		 I'll Be Your Girl
(2018)		 Traveling On
(2018)
Singles from I'll Be Your Girl
  1. "Severed"
    Released: January 17, 2018
  2. "Once in My Life"
    Released: March 10, 2018
  3. "Sucker's Prayer"
    Released: June 4, 2018[3]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Pitchfork6.1/10[5]
Rolling Stone[6]

I'll Be Your Girl is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released on March 16, 2018 on Capitol and Rough Trade.[7] Produced by John Congleton, the band experimented with new instrumentation during the album's recording sessions, including several synth-based compositions inspired by New Order and Depeche Mode. The album was preceded by the singles, "Severed" and "Once in My Life".

Writing and composition

The album's lyrical content was, in part, influenced by the 2016 presidential election and its immediate aftermath. Vocalist and guitarist Colin Meloy noted: "[I'll Be Your Girl] celebrates the absurdity of our current predicaments. I think it really is a reflection of my outlook immediately post the 2016 election, where there was immediately this onset of despair. Like real despair. Real depression, and then sort of climbing out of it. Seeing other people feeling the same way, similarly climbing out of their hole and just witnessing events as they came along, rather than with tears. There was almost like an ironic humour but with anger, and those sort of go together. It was about finding the balance between real rage and humour – discovering the wild absurdity in it, but not being blithe."[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Colin Meloy, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Once in My Life" (Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, Meloy)5:09
2."Cutting Stone"3:20
3."Severed"4:03
4."Starwatcher"2:39
5."Tripping Along"3:35
6."Your Ghost"2:40
7."Everything Is Awful"3:22
8."Sucker's Prayer"3:28
9."We All Die Young"4:01
10."Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes"8:15
11."I'll Be Your Girl"2:34
Total length:43:06

Personnel

The Decemberists

  • Colin Meloy - vocals, composer, lyricist, acoustic guitar, background vocals, electric guitar
  • Chris Funk - acoustic guitar, background vocals, banjo, bouzouki, electric guitar, mandolin, synthesizer
  • Jenny Conlee - accordion, background vocals, organ, piano, synthesizer, vibraphone
  • Nate Query - background vocals, cello, electric bass, upright bass
  • John Moen - background vocals, drums, percussion

Additional musicians

  • Kelly Hogan - background vocals
  • Nora O'Connor - background vocals
  • Birch Query - choir vocals
  • Eleanor Laurie - choir vocals
  • Finn Query - choir vocals
  • Louise Moen - choir vocals
  • Max Markewitz - choir vocals
  • Mina Greenberg Motamedi - choir vocals
  • Sabrina Montgomery - choir vocals
  • Satchel Laurie - choir vocals
  • Scout Funk - choir vocals
  • Mikaela Davis - harp
  • Gaelynn Lea - violin

Technical

  • The Decemberists - production
  • John Congleton - production, mixing, recording engineering, studio personnel
  • Adam Lee - assistant mixing, assistant recording engineering, studio personnel
  • Greg Calbi - studio personnel

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 86
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 133
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] 34
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 55
Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 8
US Billboard 200[16] 9

References

  1. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "'I'll Be Your Girl' - The Decemberists". AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2018. The shorthand description of I'll Be Your Girl, the Decemberists' eighth album, is that it's the record where the band decide to ditch the past and engage with the modern world, layering their folk-rock with synthesizers and other contemporary accouterments.
  2. ↑ Kornhaber, Spencer (March 16, 2018). "The Decemberists' Shiny, Happy Protest Album". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 21, 2018. Seventeen years into the Portland rock eccentrics' career, Colin Meloy is writing more plainspoken lyrics than ever while his band accesses the joy of '80s synthpop.
  3. ↑ "Triple A Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  4. ↑ "I'll Be Your Girl by The Decemberists" – via Metacritic.
  5. ↑ Rytlewski, Evan (March 19, 2018). "The Decemberists: I'll Be Your Girl". Pitchfork.
  6. ↑ Hermes, Will (16 March 2018). "Review: Decemberists Shake Up Artisanal Folk Rock on 'I'll Be Your Girl'". Rolling Stone.
  7. ↑ Cook-Wilson, Winston (January 17, 2018). "The Decemberists Announce New Album I'll Be Your Girl, Release "Severed"". Spin. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  8. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (20 March 2018). "The Decemberists on life in Trump's America, and the trouble with being a Morrissey fan". NME. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  9. ↑ "ARIA Chart Watch #465". auspOp. March 24, 2018. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Decemberists – I'll Be Your Girl" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Decemberists – I'll Be Your Girl" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  12. ↑ "The Decemberists Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Decemberists – I'll Be Your Girl" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  16. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (March 25, 2018). "XXXTentacion's '?' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
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