The Daily Growl

A few years ago, Gus Van Sant re-made Psycho exactly, in a frame-by-frame replication of Hitchcock’s original. This meant that the film was both very good and utterly pointless at the same time. I mention this, because for some reason it was the image that sprang to mind when I first listened to the new (actually debut full-length solo) album from The Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy. It’s not a great allusion, to be honest, and it doesn’t really hold up because the songs that Meloy is playing aren’t direct copies of his band’s songs, they’re acoustic versions. But at the same time I think there’s only really one market for Colin Meloy Sings Live, and it’s dedicated Decemberists fans. I enjoyed listening to this album, but as a casual listener, I don’t think it would be one that I’d buy. I’m not sure I see the point.