content: Tarkio is the old college band of Decemberists' frontman Colin Meloy, and they generally come across as an alt-country prototype of the Decemberists. Musically there's a lot of banjo and mandolin, and is squarely in an alt-country mode. The lyrics are slightly less developed than those of the Decemberists, but still obviously Meloy's work. There are a handful of incredibly strong tracks that could stand with the best Decemberists work ("Keeping Me Awake", "Sister Nebraska") and nothing terrible. Definitely recommended for anyone into alt-country or the Decemberists.