Album Review: As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again by The Decemberists

As it ever was (more or less) This album's title is almost too on-the-nose - it's not only a classic Decemberist-y phrase, poetically timeless, but also explicitly spells out the record's aspiration to be that oldest cliche in the book for veteran bands - the "return to form". That return to form is necessary, given As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again not only marks the group's first effort in six years, but also serves as the follow-up to the notably disappointing I'll Be Your Girl. In the abstract, I'll Be Your Girl was a passable record with a few genuine gems - "Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild Rushes" aptly displays The Decemberists' more grandiose side, while the closing title track dips into their old well of curtain call sentimentality - but, when set against the standard of excellence which long defined the iconic band's previous output, it fell quite short, bogged down by the ambivalent quality of a large swathe of the tracklist, and a few true stinkers ("We All Die Young", cough, cough).

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