Claude says:The Decemberists went lean and electric on this 2018 pivot, stripping away the baroque orchestration for something rawer and more direct—Colin Meloy's storytelling still intact but delivered with actual bite. You've circled back to it a handful of times over the last few years, letting "Once in My Life" and "Severed" do their work, and there's something about that tighter, less precious version of the band that keeps pulling you back.