The King Is Dead (album)

The King Is Dead
Studio album by
The Decemberists
ReleasedJanuary 14, 2011 (2011-01-14)[1]
RecordedEarly 2010
StudioPendarvis Farm, near Portland, Oregon
GenreIndie folk, indie rock, folk rock, Americana[2]
Length40:26
LabelCapitol and Rough Trade
ProducerTucker Martine
The Decemberists chronology
The Hazards of Love
(2009) 		The King Is Dead
(2011) 		Live at Bull Moose
(2011)
Singles from The King Is Dead
  1. "Down by the Water"
    Released: November 2010
  2. "This Is Why We Fight"
    Released: January 25, 2011[3]
  3. "Calamity Song"
    Released: 2011

The King Is Dead is the sixth studio album by The Decemberists, released on Capitol Records on January 14, 2011.[1] Described as the "most pastoral, rustic record they've ever made" by Douglas Wolk of Rolling Stone,[4] the album reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for the week ending February 5, 2011.[5] The song "This Is Why We Fight" reached number 19 on the U.S Alternative Songs Chart, while the song "Down by the Water" also charted in the United States. In November 2011, the band released an EP of album out-takes, entitled Long Live the King.

Prior to the album's release, frontman Colin Meloy stated: "If there's anything academic about this record, or me trying to force myself in a direction, it was realising that the last three records were really influenced by the British folk revival [...] this whole world that I was discovering, that I was poring over, learning inside-out. It was a wanting to get away from that. And looking back into more American traditions, reconnecting with more American music."[6]

  1. ^ a b "The King Is Dead (Capitol Records, Vinyl LP Album) at Discogs". Discogs. 14 January 2011. Retrieved Feb 10, 2011.
  2. ^ Barshad, Amos (November 3, 2010). "The Decemberists Let It Swag". New York magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  3. ^ Radiol1 Rodos Greece ::: USA Forthcoming Singles
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference rs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Billboard 200 Week-Ending Feb 5 '11". Billboard. Feb 5, 2011.
  6. ^ Barton, Laura (January 6, 2011). "The Decemberists: The changing of the seasons". The Guardian. London.