The Decemberists

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the Decemberists burst onto the indie-rock scene in the early 2000s, weaving complex, literary narratives (courtesy of singer/songwriter Colin Meloy) through layers of chiming, acoustic-based folk-rock. Meloy's literary bent doesn't express itself only in his richly rendered lyrics, either; in 2004, he contributed to the music-based 33 1/3 series of books by writing one about the Replacements' classic LET IT BE album, which was a surprisingly important influence on his own music.

• rock
• pop
• indie rock
• 2000s