The group's songs range from upbeat pop to instrumentally lush ballads, and often employ instruments like the accordion, keyboards, and upright bass.
In its lyrics, the band eschews the introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach, as evidenced in songs such as "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist" from the 5 Songs EP and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on Picaresque.
The band's songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("The Sporting Life", "Apology Song") to epic ("The Tain") to dark ("Odalisque", "The Rake's Song") to political ("16 Military Wives", "Valerie Plame"), and often invoke historical events and themes from around the world ("Yankee Bayonet", "Shankill Butchers").
The group's songs range from upbeat pop to instrumentally lush ballads, and often employ instruments like the accordion, keyboards, and upright bass. In its lyrics, the band eschews the introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach, as evidenced in songs such as "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist" from the 5 Songs EP and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on Picaresque. The band's songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("The Sporting Life", "Apology Song") to epic ("The Tain") to dark ("Odalisque", "The Rake's Song") to political ("16 Military Wives", "Valerie Plame"), and often invoke historical events and themes from around the world ("Yankee Bayonet", "Shankill Butchers").
The Decemberists