The Decemberists "The King Is Dead"

Harmonica,"Don't Carry It All," let somebody else carry something. Some harmonica and Meloy's voice starts this track, strings come to help as well as Gilian Welch and David Rawlings helping on vocals and Peter Buck on mandolin,."Calamity Song" is a little bit faster which features tambo by Tucker Martine, and 12 string by David Rawlings. "Rise To Me" has Meloy and Welch on a beautiful duet with lovely piano and viola in a countryflavored  song that sings "this distance, between us can seem a mountain size/but boy, you are gonna stand your ground//they rise to you you'll blow them down..." before the harmonica comes forward."Rox in The Box" is a real rocking song compared to some of the other selections with some steady strumming, and a quicker catchy beat ; the violin has a solo, and seems to have more attitude than on previous songs. Awesome! The lyrics are fun and catchy too; like an elder version of 1,2 buckle my shoe, 3..4...out the door..."January Hymn" oh how those words hid within, if only I could have said what I felt before she walked away,oh why, oh why, has my mouth betrayed me?! The latter is a soft and minimal song focusing on the vocals of meloy and..."Maybe I should just “let it be”/And maybe it will all come back to me." Let's take a walk "Down By The Water," maybe play some more bluesy harmonica,or just stop playing that riff, it may be this song's Downfall even as "The summer swells anon/So knock me down, tear me up/But I would bear it all broken just to fill my cup" "All Arise!" features prominent violin by Tornfelt that reminds me of a country song "where the whiskey roam..and ohhhh," and vocals by Welch that seem to be about a thief who just can't stop his habit, and may have stolen someone's heart."June Hymn" includes a nice steady strum and backup vocals by Rawlings, a solo fit for the harmonica. "This Is Why We Fight" is a powerful anthem that sounds like a song that Springsteen may write, if he has not already done so. It has this mad catchy bass, and upbeat hoppy percussion; the harmonica strengthens it's power, not weakens it, and there is a short quiet passage at the end. "Dear Avery" I hope you like a more country-like song and plenty a violin, "Headstrong, you and your long arms/Listing lazily on the cusp of your tease/But you were my Avery and when you needed saving" I couldn't reach you. If I needed to find six superlative successors I would choose: Don't Carry It All, Rise To Me, Rox in the Box, All Arise!, This is Why We Fight, and Dear Avery.