The Decemberists to perform "Down by the Water" on Jay Leno + US/UK tour dates

The Decemberists to perform "Down by the Water" on NBC's Tonight Show With Jay Leno on January 20th

NPR Music's Exclusive First Listen; Sirius Takeover

The raves have begun pouring in for The Decemberists' new album The King Is Dead, with 4-star reviews appearing on both sides of the pond in Rolling Stone, MOJO, and UNCUT.

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The Decemberists on Amazon.com

The Decemberists on Amazon.co.uk

The King Is Dead will be released January 18, 2011 on EMI's Capitol Records in the U.S., and January 17 on Rough Trade Records in the UK and Europe.

NPR Music's Exclusive First Listen full-album preview quickly became the #1 Most Viewed and #1 Most Recommended story on the entire NPR site last week.

"What's remarkable is how much richness and beauty the group has folded into the 40-minute album," wrote Rolling Stone. "For a band able to push the limits of songwriting, it's a revelation, and a chance to see how deep simplicity goes. Very deep, it turns out."

UNCUT declared The King Is Dead the band's "most immediate and outgoing album," adding that "these performances sweep you up. There's not much about the album that isn't glorious, Meloy's sublime melodic gifts, allowed here to shine, dazzlingly so on tracks like 'January Hymn' and it's companion piece, 'June Hymn.'"

The Decemberists will be performing the album's lead single "Down by the Water" on NBC's Tonight Show With Jay Leno on January 20.

"Down by the Water" has become the band's highest charting radio single of their career thus far, cracking the top 10 on the AAA radio charts and still climbing.

The band will be taking over Sirius XMU this week, introducing their new album, playing songs from their handpicked playlists, and presenting songs from their ten year history.

Decemberists Radio will air today through Friday, January 14th from 5:00pm-6:00pm ET with rebroadcasts at 11:00pm ET and 9:00am ET on Sirius XMU, Sirius channel 26 and XM channel 43.

The Decemberists will be launching their world tour with an impressive three-night stand at New York City's historic Beacon Theater (January 24-26).

Vocalist, fiddle player, and Nonesuch recording artist Sara Watkins will be joining the band throughout the tour.

Shows in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Portland have already sold out. See a full list of dates below.

The King Is Dead marks a deliberate turn towards simplicity after the band's wildly ambitious and widely acclaimed 2009 song-cycle The Hazards of Love. Produced once again by Tucker Martine, the album features Americana luminary Gillian Welch on seven tracks and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck on three tracks.

The Decemberists have partnered with The Impossible Project and photographer Autumn de Wilde to create a DELUXE BOX EDITION of The King Is Dead, which is available for preorder exclusively at Decemberists.com. Each of the 2,500 limited edition box sets will be unique, with every one containing a one-of-a-kind original Polaroid photo by de Wilde taken during the album's recording sessions at Pendarvis Farm outside of Portland, Oregon, and in de Wilde's hometown of Los Angeles, California. The linen-wrapped clamshell box will have a foil-stamped cover, and will also include the CD, 180-gram white vinyl with an exclusive cover design, the DVD Pendarvia (a 30-minute short film by Aaron Rose documenting the making of the album), a 72-page hardcover book featuring over 250 photos by de Wilde and illustrations by Carson Ellis, and a signed Giclée print of an exclusive illustration by Ellis.

The Decemberists 2011 tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change. Go to the Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.)

January 2011

January 24, Beacon Theatre, New York, NY*
January 25, Beacon Theatre, New York, NY* SOLD OUT
January 26, Beacon Theatre, New York, NY* SOLD OUT
January 28, House of Blues, Boston, MA*
January 29, House of Blues, Boston, MA* SOLD OUT
January 31, Olympia De Montreal, Montreal, Canada*

February 2011

February 1, Sound Academy, Toronto, Canada*
February 2, Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI*
February 4, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL* SOLD OUT
February 5, Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, WI#
February 6, State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN#
February 7, Uptown Theatre, Kansas City, MO#
February 9, Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO#
February 10, Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO#
February 12, The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA# SOLD OUT
February 13, House of Blues-San Diego, San Diego, CA#
February 14, Fox Theater, Oakland, CA# SOLD OUT
February 18, Paramount Ballroom, Seattle, WA#
February 19, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR# SOLD OUT

March 2011

March 4, Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland
March 5, ABC, Glasgow, UK
March 7, Birmingham Institute, Birmingham, UK
March 8, Bristol Academy, Bristol, UK
March 10, Manchester Academy, Manchester, UK
March 11, Leeds Academy, Leeds, UK
March 12, De la Warr Pavillion, Bexhill, UK
March 13, Trix, Antwerp, Belgium
March 14, Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 16, Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK

* with Wye Oak
# with Mountain Man

Photo credit: Autumn de Wilde

Buy CDs, MP3s, more:

The Decemberists on Amazon.com

The Decemberists on Amazon.co.uk

The Decemberists Official Website