The Decemberists have announced a new double album, As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, due out June 14th on the band’s label YABB Records via Thirsty Tigers. To accompany the announcement, the band has also shared the 19-minute album closer “Joan in the Garden.”
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, the folk-rock act’s ninth album, marks the band’s return after a six-year hiatus. Teased by the recent single “Burial Ground” and split into four thematic sides, the double-LP also notably boasts guest appearances from The Shins’ James Mercer and REM’s Mike Mill.
Get The Decemberists Tickets Here
Contrasting the relative brevity and accessibility of “Burial Ground,” which serves as the album’s opener, “Joan in the Garden” arrives as an extended, multi-part epic. The song’s subject matter is fittingly grand, as the origins of the song derive from the story of Joan of Arc.
“I got into a Joan of Arc kick after reading Lydia Yuknavitch’s beautifully batshit novel The Book of Joan,” frontman Colin Meloy said of the song. “I wanted to make my own version of Joan — but the song that came was as much about the creative process as it was about the actual woman, about angelic visitation and creative visitation and the hallucinogenic quality of both.”
Listen to the new song below. You can also pre-order As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again here.
The Decemberists also recently unveiled a lengthy 2024 touring schedule, including co-headlining dates with The Head and The Heart and a run with Ratboys. Check out the full list of dates below, and get tickets here.
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again follows 2018’s I’ll Be Your Girl. For more on the band, read our definitive ranking of every Decemberists album.
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again Artwork:
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again Tracklist:
01. Burial Ground
02. Oh No!
03. The Reapers
04. Long White Veil
05. William Fitzwilliam
06. Don’t Go to the Woods
07. The Black Maria
08. All I Want Is You
09. Born to the Morning
10. America Made Me
11. Tell Me What’s on Your Mind
12. Never Satisfied
13. Joan in the Garden
The Decemberists 2024 Tour Dates:
04/30 – Kingston, NY @ Ulster Performing Arts Center *
05/02 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner *
05/03 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount Theatre *
05/06 – Toronto, ON @ Exhibition Place – Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
05/07 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE *
05/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia *
05/10 – Washington DC @ The Anthem *
05/11 – Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center *
05/12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern *
05/14 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theater *
05/15 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall *
05/17 – St Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
05/18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater *
05/19 – St Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
05/21 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed *
05/22 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater *
05/24 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
07/12 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater ^
07/13 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater *
07/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether *
07/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether *
07/18 – San Diego, CA @ Humphreys *
07/19 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater *
07/20 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
07/22 – Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing *
07/23 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom *
07/24 – Sandy, UT @ Sandy Amphitheater *
07/26 – Missoula, MT @ Kettlehouse Amphitheater *
07/27 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Pavilion *
07/29 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
07/31 – Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre *
08/03 – Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield
08/25 – London, UK @ All Points East
^ = w/ The Head and The Heart
* = w/ Ratboys