The Decemberists will release Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series this fall. The three volumes will be available digitally and on 12″ vinyl. Volume 1, comprised of “Valerie Plame” and “O New England,” will be released on October 14th. The band will give “Valerie Plame” its national television debut on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” on November 3rd, the eve of the United States presidential election. Written from the point-of-view of one of Plame’s inside contacts upon discovering her true identity, the song is an amorous tribute to the onetime CIA operative. The Decemberists will be playing select U.S. dates this November; details will be announced shortly.
Volume II and Volume III of Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series will be released on November 4th and December 2nd respectively. (See below for track listings.) The series will be available digitally at DSPs, released by Capitol Records, and on 12″ vinyl via The Decemberists’ own label, Y.A.B.B. Records/Jealous Butcher Records. Fans who pre-order all three singles through the band’s website will receive a limited edition version on colored vinyl; the pre-order begins today at http://www.decemberistsshop.com/. The vinyl will also be available at select independent retail stores (go to http://www.thinkindie.com to find out where). In the U.K., Rough Trade will release the series digitally and on 7″ vinyl.
Formed in Portland, Oregon in 2000, The Decemberists weave spellbinding tales rife with atmosphere and an infallible melodic knack. 2006’s The Crane Wife – the band’s fourth full-length album and its first released by Capitol Records – was hailed by Pitchfork as “an enormous folk-prog monsterpiece” while The New York Times called it “one of the most accomplished albums of its kind this year.”
The band is currently in the studio working on a new full-length album with Tucker Martine, who produced Always The Bridesmaid: The Singles Series and co-produced The Crane Wife.
Track listings for Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series:
Volume I. Valerie Plame / O New England
Release date: October 14, 2008
Volume II. Days of Elaine / Days of Elaine (long) and I’m Sticking With You
Release date: November 4, 2008
Volume III. Record Year / Raincoat Song
Release date: December 2, 2008