The Decemberist, The Crane Wife Rating: 8 (out of 10)

Exuberance isn't a word often associated either with singer-songwriters or alt-rock, but its what seperates Colin Meloy's The Decemberists from the others of his ilk. That and an uncanny ability to turn a phrase and recognize a good story. I was won over to Meloy's interesting voice in "We Both Go Down Together" from the Picaresque album, and I highly recommend it as an accessible entry point for the uninitiated. The three songs that make up the story of the Crane Wife (one of two three-song cycles on the album) tell the Japanese children's fable of a man who rescues an injured crane one night, marries her ("soft as fontainelle, the feathers and the thread"- gulp), and eventually runs her off in his poverty and his greed Either that type of a story appeals to you or it doesn't, but you've got to respect Meloy resting his first major-label release on its feathered back. Couple that song with stories of rape, a still-waiting Civil War widow, Romeo/Juliet-style forbidden love, and a half-dozen other tales and you've got an honest man exposing the dark heart of love and lust and the muddy line that sometimes divides them.

Hear them here: http://www.myspace.com/thedecemberists