The King Is Dead Rough Trade***

If Colin Meloy is to be believed, his Portland, Oregon band's sixth album should sound like an homage to REM. In reality, despite the presence of Peter Buck playing guitar on three tracks, The King Is Deadsuggests a band more in thrall to Neil Young and Wilco-style alt.country. There's an organic glow to such tracks as Don't Carry It All(featuring Gillian Welch), Rise to Meand the hoedown swagger of All Arise!. These are tempered by the likes of This Is Why We Fight,which acknowledges the wordy, sombre indie rock sound that The Decemberists excel at. Yet as consistently solid as this album is, it's missing the juxtaposition between the lofty peaks and sinister troughs that they have perfected so well in the past. See decemberists.com

Download tracks: This Is Why We Fight, Down by the Water