Colin Meloy (3,202 views)

[BassSquared]

Colin Patrick Henry Meloy (5 October 1979 - present)
Associated Acts: The Decemberists (1999-present), Offa Rex (2017-present), Tarkio (1997-1999)
Vocal Range: E2-D5

Significant High Notes:

D5: ("The Island: The Landlord's Daughter")
A4: ("Calamity Song", "Every Day Is Like Sunday", "The Island: The Landlord's Daughter")
G♯4: ("Sonnet")
G4: ("The Bagman's Gambit", "Calamity Song", "E. Watson", "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground", "The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)", "Sonnet")
F♯4: ("The Bagman's Gambit", "The Crane Wife 3", "Foregone", "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground", "The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)", "The Island: Come and See", "Odalisque", "Philomena", "Row Jimmy", "Sonnet", "Summersong", "This Is Why We Fight", "Valerie Plame")
F4: ("The Abduction of Margaret", "America Made Me", "The Bagman's Gambit", "A Bower Scene", "From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)", "Joan in the Garden", "The Legionnaire's Lament", "O Valencia!", "Raincoat Song", "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid", "The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)")
E4: ("12/17/12", "16 Military Wives", "The Abduction of Margaret", "America Made Me", "Angel, Won't You Call Me?", "Annan Water", "Anti-Summersong", "Apology Song", "A Beginning Song", "The Black Maria", "Born to the Morning", "A Bower Scene", "Bridges and Balloons", "Burial Ground", "Cavalry Captain", "The Crane Wife 3", "Cupid", "Days of Elaine", "Don't Carry It All", "Down by the Water", "Down on the Knuckle", "The Engine Driver", "Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right", "The Harrowed and the Haunted", "The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)", "The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)", "Hurdles Even Here", "The Infanta", "I Will Not Say Your Name", "Joan in the Garden", "Los Angeles, I'm Yours", "Make You Better", "Midlist Author", "Mistral", "Never Satisfied", "O New England", "O Valencia!", "Oceanside", "Oh No!", "The Perfect Crime #1/The Day I Knew You'd Not Come Back", "Philomena", "The Rake's Song", "Rise to Me", "Row Jimmy", "Severed", "Shankill Butchers", "Shanty for the Arethusa", "The Singer Addresses His Audience", "The Soldiering Life", "The Sporting Life", "Starwatcher", "Sucker's Prayer", "Summersong", "Sunshine", "The Tain", "This Is Why We Fight", "Tripping Along", "Valerie Plame", "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid", "The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)" "We Both Go Down Together", "Why Would I Now?", "William Fitzwilliam", "Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga", "The Wrong Year", "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)", "Your Ghost")

Significant Low Notes:

D3: ("12/17/12", "After the Bombs", "Angel, Won't You Call Me?", "Annan Water", "Anti-Summersong", "As I Rise", "A Beginning Song", "Ben Franklin's Song", "Better Not Wake the Baby", "Burial Ground", "The Capp Street Girls", "Cavalry Captain", "A Cautionary Song", "Clementine", "Cocoon", "Constantinople", "The Crane Wife 1 & 2", "Culling of the Fold", "Cupid", "Dear Avery", "Don't Carry It All", "E. Watson", "Easy Come, Easy Go", "The Engine Driver", "Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right", "Foregone", "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground", "The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)", "The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)", "The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)", "The Infanta", "I Was Meant for the Stage", "I Will Not Say Your Name", "Kingdom of Spain", "Los Angeles, I'm Yours", "Mistral", "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist", "O Valencia!", "Of Angels and Angles", "The Perfect Crime #1/The Day I Knew You'd Not Come Back", "Philomena", "Raincoat Song", "The Reapers", "Red Right Ankle", "Rise to Me", "Riverswim", "Rox in the Box", "Shiny", "Song for Myla Goldberg", "Sons & Daughters", "The Sporting Life", "Tripping Along", "Stateside", "Valerie Plame", "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid", "We All Die Young", "The Wrong Year", "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)", "Your Ghost")
C♯3: ("16 Military Wives", "All Arise!", "Apology Song", "The Bachelor and the Bride", "Born to the Morning", "Bridges and Balloons", "Calamity Song", "The Crane Wife 3", "Days of Elaine", "Eli, the Barrow Boy", "Everything Is Awful", "Hurdles Even Here", "Isn't It a Lovely Night?", "I Will Not Say Your Name", "January Hymn", "Midlist Author", "Shiny", "Summersong", "The Tain"
C3: ("America Made Me", "Angel, Won't You Call Me?", "Annan Water", "The Bagman's Gambit", "Bandit Queen", "Burial Ground", "Carolina Low", "Dear Avery", "Don't Go to the Woods", "From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)", "Grace Cathedral Hill", "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect", "I Don't Mind", "I Was Meant for the Stage", "Joan in the Garden", "The Legionnaire's Lament", "Los Angeles, I'm Yours", "Oceanside", "The Perfect Crime #2", "Raincoat Song", "The Reapers", "Traveling On", "William Fitzwilliam")
B2: ("16 Military Wives", "After the Bombs", "Billy Liar", "The Black Maria", "Bridges and Balloons", "Calamity Song", "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade", "Cocoon", "Days of Elaine", "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground", "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect", "I Don't Mind", "I'll Be Your Girl", "The Island: You'll Not Feel the Drowning", "Isn't It a Lovely Night?", "Make You Better", "Lake Song", "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist", "Never Satisfied", "Oceanside", "On the Bus Mall", "Oh No!", "The Perfect Crime #2", "A Record Year for Rainfall", "Rox in the Box", "Rusalka, Rusalka/The Wild Rushes", "Shanty for the Arethusa", "The Singer Addresses His Audience", "Song for Myla Goldberg", "The Tain", "Tell Me What's on Your Mind", "Why Would I Now?", "William Fitzwilliam")
B♭2 ("Born to the Morning", "Don't Go to the Woods", "Traveling On")
A2: ("America Made Me", "Bandit Queen", "Billy Liar", "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade", "Carolina Low", "A Cautionary Song", "The Crane Wife 3", "Everything Is Awful", "I'm Sticking With You", "The Island: You'll Not Feel the Drowning", "January Hymn", "Joan in the Garden", "Lake Song", "Make You Better", "On the Bus Mall", "The Perfect Crime #1/The Day I Knew You'd Not Come Back", "Rusalka, Rusalka/The Wild Rushes", "Shankill Butchers", "The Singer Addresses His Audience")
G#2: ("I'm Sticking With You", "A Record Year for Rainfall", "Shankill Butchers")
G2: ("All I Want Is You", "Of Angels and Angles", "Till the Water's All Long Gone")
E2: ("Till the Water's All Long Gone")


While he may not be the most technically proficient singer in the world, it is difficult to imagine The Decemberists' uniquely loquacious indie-folk ballads coming from any voice other than that of singer-songwriter Colin Meloy. His limitations are particularly noticeable on the range front- his chest voice tops out in the middle fourth octave, his falsetto is rare and not particularly expansive, and despite having a lower vocal placement indicative of a baritone, his lows below A2 tend to be quiet and weak. Still, within his comfort zone, he has quite a pleasant voice with a great deal of character and tonal versatility, able to pull off soft, lilting romantic ballads and twisted tales of drowning and murder alike with ease.

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Blue marks falsetto or whistle notes.
Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}
B4: "16 Military Wives"[1] [3]
A2: "Constantinople"[3], "The Crane Wife 1&2"[1], "The Perfect Crime #2"[1]
G2: "I'm Sticking With You"[1], "Isn't It a Lovely Night?" [1]
F#2: "Everything is Awful" [5]
F2: "Raincoat Song" [1] [4]
E2: "The Tain"[4]

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[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Notewatched Material}
5 Songs EP (2001): B2-E4
Castaways and Cutouts (2002): A2-F#4
Her Majesty the Decemberists (2003): A2-G4
The Tain EP (2004): B2-E4
Picaresque (2005): G2-G4
Picaresqueties EP (2005): A2-E4
The Crane Wife (2006): G#2-D5
The Hazards of Love (2009): B2-G4
The King Is Dead (2011): A2-A4
Long Live the King EP (2011): D3-G#4
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (2015): E2-F#4
Florasongs EP (2015): B2-E4
I'll Be Your Girl (2018): A2-E4
Traveling On EP (2018): B♭2-E4
As It Ever Was, So It Shall Be Again (2024): G2 - F4