The Newport Folk Festival once saw Bob Dylan alienate a worshipful fan base by experimenting with a new electric sound. This year The Decemberists used the occasion to debut two new songs that show their folk roots. The two songs feature some staples of folk: finger-picking guitar, strings, and harmonica. Each song comes with a chorus and a straightforward hook. If, as Pitchfork reports, "Rox in the Box" is what frontman Colin Meloy calls "a copper-mining song about Butte, Montana," I can imagine both these new songs appealing to Butte's long-dead copper miners and its contemporary rough-and-tumble residents.
Download: The Decemberists - "Down by the Water"
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