It's tempting to overuse the dreaded "L-word"--literary, that is--when discussing The Decemberists [ tickets ]. That's what happens when you base an 18-minute EP on an eighth century Celtic poem, as The Decemberists did with 2004's "The Tain," or channel Charles Dickens on your debut, like the band seemed to do with 2002's "Castaways and Cutouts."

Some would deem the Oregon-based band as overly ambitious, while others might counter with hugely pretentious. Both descriptions are made totally irrelevant by the simple fact that The Decemberists are so good at what they do.

Following the same blueprint found on 2003's "Her Majesty The Decemberists," the band fills its latest release, "Picaresque," with an odd assortment of characters--"Eli the Barrow Boy," "The Engine Driver," "16 Military Wives" and other such curious personalities that seem to have popped right out of the pages of some collection of short stories.

The Decemberists' singer-songwriter Colin Meloy is certainly in top shape on "Picaresque," drawing from both his immense vocabulary and his uniquely appealing take on melodies and hooks to craft such vastly appealing tales as "The Infanta" and "The Mariner's Revenge Song."

Released just as winter ends, "Picaresque" shows that that The Decemberists' appeal is for all seasons.