Anything Decemberists singer Colin Meloy touches turns tragic. It’s in his delivery. Notes drop lower, and an ominous mood trickles in. These six tunes (cut during the sessions at Oregon's Pendarvis Farm for their acclaimed The King Is Dead release) further the group’s newfound roots influences. “E. Watson” plays like an ageless folk ballad, with backing vocals from Laura Veirs and Annalisa Tornfelt. “Foregone” throws on the country-rock influences, with pedal steel guitar lighting the way. “Burying Davy” builds to near progressive rock heights with guitars that replicate the '70s FM-radio experience. Even the earnest quick shuffle of the home demo for “I4U & U4ME” has a sense of hangover pervading its sense of joy, while their cover of The Grateful Dead’s “Row Jimmy” lurches with the decadent sway of early-'70s countrified Rolling Stones and “Sonnet” kicks in with a horn section. The group's firing on all cylinders here. For a collection of b-sides, this is pretty much essential listening.