The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

As Neko Case did recently, Portland’s Colin Meloy has turned to an ancient folk tale for inspiration—with wondrous results. The Decemberists’ leader has made the story of a Japanese peasant and his magical bird into the epic title track of his band’s latest album. With other songs exploring themes of murder (the grisly “Shankhill Butchers”) and romance (the gorgeous “Yankee Bayonet,” which the hyper-literate Meloy calls a “Civil War-era ghost love story”) the collection amounts to a modest prog-folk masterpiece.