Decemberists ignite tour with "hazardously" innovative new album.

Every so often, an album will come out that creates an audible landscape: blending from song to song in such a dynamic yet flawless fashion that upon listening to it in its entirety, the listener feels as if have taken in a panoramic view of sorts.

I love listening to these albums, closing my eyes, and letting the music paint the vast visualizations in my mind.

Coincidentally, the Decemberists released their eighth studio album, "Hazards of Love" on Capitol Records two days ago. Listening to it gave me the sensation I was observing a portion of a romantic Steinbeck novel from on high: watching the ebb and flow of open countryside, love won and love lost, majestic forest, motorcars,roaring twenties regalia, and the ability to make one feel as if they have been painted on the canvas along with everything else.

The band's nostalgic appearance, musical structuring, and album concepts makes me feel as if I have picked up a Walt Whitman original or a Robert Frost manuscript when listening, thinking to myself as it blends from song to song, "They just don't make these anymore."

"Hazards" will leave you stunned wondering where such a roller coaster ride came from, be it from the gritty, twangy blues riffs such as the one in "Won't Want For Love," or the soft crinkle of lo-fi piano keys in "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid."

The band has launched a tour to accompany the new album, and I am pleased to know that I will be seeing them at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee this June. The tour covers the U.S. from coast to coast, and wraps up in Late July.

Typically, when someone has not listened to a band before, I will not reccommend them listen to the band's latest work, but in the case of the Decemberists, I would encourage anyone to sit down with "Hazards," relax, and enjoy the picture that is being painted beautifully before you.

You can find tour dates, tracks from the new album, and plenty of other things on their website.

"The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid:"