Colin Meloy

"In this house, when everyone stays awake at night, things get very strange, what with Mom on the roof, and Grandma playing cards with the ghost of long-dead Grandpa Paul, and even the dog and cat are acting weird; as the family's doings become more and more bizarre, the narrator starts to wonder--what on earth will happen when morning finally comes." --

After witnessing a troupe of pickpockets pull off an incredible robbery in a busy Marseille square, Charlie Fisher agrees to protect one of the thieves if they teach him their ways, leading him into a world of adventure with global stakes.

"Maybe Archie Coomes has been watching too many horror movies. All of a sudden, the most ordinary things have taken on a sinister edge: a penny on a doormat. A man in a brown suit under a streetlamp. The persistent sound of an ax chopping in the middle of the night. He keeps telling himself that this is Seaham, a sleepy seaside town where nothing ever happens. Or at least nothing did, until his dad's construction company opened up the cliff beneath...

The Decemberists explore a new sound on their inspired eighth studio album. They embraced such influences as Roxy Music and New Order to spark a new creative path, as evidenced on the synth-driven lead single Severed.