The Decemberists were one of the biggest bands of the ’00s indie boom-times, and they’re still a band today, though they’ve been less busy lately. The Decemberists have played live in the past few years. They’ve debuted new songs, and they’ve brought Lin-Manuel Miranda to the stage in New York. But they haven’t released any new music since 2018’s I’ll Be Your Girl and its companion-piece EP Traveling On. That changes today.

Today, the Decemberists have announced a big North American tour that’ll take them through the spring and summer, and they’ve also dropped a new single, their first in nearly six years. Frontman Colin Meloy has been busy writing books, and he’s had a lot of success in that arena. Wildwood, his series of YA fantasy novels, is about to become a movie that’ll star Mahershala Ali, Carey Mulligan, Angela Bassett, and Tom Waits, among others. He’s also working on a book for adults now. If you’ve been listening to the Decemberists for any amount of time, Meloy’s writerly bent won’t come as a surprise, and you can hear it at work on the new song “Burial Ground.”

“Burial Ground” is a twinkly jangle with backup vocals from the Shins’ James Mercer. In a press release, Colin Meloy says, “‘Burial Ground’ is in that time-honored pop song tradition, a paean to hanging out in graveyard. The melody hook came to me in a dream and I hummed it into my phone on waking. Most dream-songs are bad; this was the exception.” Below, listen to “Burial Ground” and check out the Decemberists’ upcoming tour dates.

TOUR DATES:
4/30 – Kingston, NY @ Ulster Performing Arts Center *
5/02 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner *
5/03 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount Theatre *
5/06 – Toronto, ON @ Exhibition Place – Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
5/07 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE *
5/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia *
5/10 – Washington DC @ The Anthem *
5/11 – Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center *
5/12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern *
5/14 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theater *
5/15 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall *
5/17 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
5/18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater *
5/19 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
5/21 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed *
5/22 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater *
5/24 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
7/12 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater *^
7/13 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater *
7/15 – os Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether *
7/18 – San Diego, CA @ Humphreys *
7/19 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater *
7/20 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
7/22 – Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing *
7/23 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom *
7/24 – Sandy, UT @ Sandy Amphitheater *
7/26 – Missoula, MT @ Kettlehouse Amphitheater *
7/27 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Pavilion *
7/29 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
8/03 – Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield

* with Ratboys
^ with the Head And The Heart