The Crane Wife

The Crane Wife is an impressively eclectic effort that somehow manages to avoid sounding scattered, co-produced by Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) and Tucker Martine (the Long Winters), this album is richer, less immediately catchy than its predecessor, with a deeper work that resists snap judgments.

It's an album that will take time to percolate, but it's certainly the Decemberists' most ambitious so far.