Having apparently signed up for The Decemberists‘ mailing list on two different email accounts, I was pleased to read recently that they are launching a new tour soon. There’s also a new album cover at their website! And a fun track–”The Rake’s Song”–from their next album–The Hazards of Love. I’m even more pleased to read that their setlist will consist of the entirety of their new album.

This past March I had the pleasure of attending Harvey Danger’s 10th Anniversary Public Spectacle, a two evening event at which the band played all three of their albums, and most of their B-sides and rarities. It was a treat, to say the least. (I also believe the Half Brothers played their entire new album at their CD release when I was doing merch.)

Sometimes I feel like it’s easy for people to say that it’s easy to play through an album, it doesn’t require any clever setlist design. Possibly so! But it’s a rarity, something bands seldom do, and this is part of where the charm comes from. In the case of a new release, your first chance to listen to the new material is in a live format–by the time you buy the album, you already have songs to be excited about, you know what to expect, you remember all the excitement and energy from the show. In the case of older releases, it’s a chance to hear the old material as it appears on the album, but live. Not so much different as transformed.

I ramble. I’m looking forward to the new album and hope I can scrape together money for the new tour.