The wait is almost over for the new Decemberists album. Let the excitement begin! The band will release their fifth full length album, ‘The Hazards of Love’ on March 24th. The record tops off at 17 songs which most bands don’t even dare to try.  We’re sure this is going to be one of the biggest records of the year. Just read this snippet from the band’s press release:

“‘The Hazards Of Love’ tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came “to be living so easy and free” in the aforementioned “The Rake’s Song.” Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden deliver the lead vocals for the female characters, while My Morning Jacket‘s Jim James, Robyn Hitchcock and the Spinanes’ Rebecca Gates appear in supporting roles. ‘

Wow. And thats only the first single. The Hazards of Love  will perhaps be The Decemberists most brilliant album yet.

Tracklisting

The track listing for The Hazards Of Love is as follows:

1. Prelude
2. The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won’t Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
3. A Bower Scene
4. Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
5. The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)
6. The Queen’s Approach
7. Isn’t it a Lovely Night?
8. The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
9. An Interlude
10. The Rake’s Song
11. The Abduction of Margaret
12. The Queen’s Rebuke / The Crossing
13. Annan Water
14. Margaret in Captivity
15. The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)
16. The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)
17. The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)

You can download The Rake’s Song directly at www.decemberists.com