Castaways and Cutouts

Castaways and Cutouts is the first full-length album by The Decemberists, originally released on May 21, 2002, on Hush Records and reissued on May 6, 2003, on Kill Rock Stars. The album's title is taken from a lyric of the song "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade".

Castaways and Cutouts
Studio album by The Decemberists
Released	May 21, 2002
Recorded	January – February 2002
Genre	Indie rock, indie folk
Length	49:59
Label	Hush
Producer	The Decemberists
The Decemberists chronology
5 Songs (2001) Castaways and Cutouts (2002) Her Majesty the Decemberists (2003)

The album cover was designed by the Portland artist Carson Ellis, the long-time girlfriend (now wife) of frontman Colin Meloy. She has created artwork for each of the band's albums.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Boston Phoenix	[2]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[3]
Tiny Mix Tapes	5/5[4]

Castaways and Cutouts received mostly positive reviews. The album ranked number 89 on Under the Radar's Top 200 Albums of the 2000s^[5] and number 96 on Pitchfork's The 100 Best Albums of 2000–2004.^[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Colin Meloy.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Leslie Anne Levine"	4:13
2.	"Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"	4:29
3.	"July, July!"	2:53
4.	"A Cautionary Song"	3:09
5.	"Odalisque"	5:21
6.	"Cocoon"	6:49
7.	"Grace Cathedral Hill"	4:29
8.	"The Legionnaire's Lament"	4:45
9.	"Clementine"	4:07
10.	"California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade"	9:51
Total length:		49:59

Personnel

According to the liner notes of Castaways and Cutouts.

• Colin Meloy – vocals, guitar, percussion
• Chris Funk – guitar, pedal steel, theremin
• Jenny Conlee – Hammond organ, piano, Rhodes piano, accordion
• Nate Query – upright bass
• Ezra Holbrook – drums, percussion, vocals

Production

• Produced by The Decemberists
• Recorded by Simon Widdowson
• Mastered by Ryan Foster
• Design by Third Eyebrow (.com)
• Art direction by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis
• Cover painting and illustrations by Carson Ellis
• Inner-tray photo by Jonathan Gitelson
• Sound clip in "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade" from Archangel, directed by Guy Maddin.

References

1. Cramer, Stephen. "Castaways and Cutouts – The Decemberists". AllMusic. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
2. Carioli, Carly (May 9–15, 2003). "The Decemberists: Castaways and Cutouts (Kill Rock Stars)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
3. Carr, Eric (March 25, 2003). "The Decemberists: Castaways and Cutouts". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
4. Wolfman. "The Decemberists – Castaways and Cutouts". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
5. newmusicexcess (8 January 2010). "Under The Radar: Best Of The Decade – Top 200 Albums of the Decade". New Music Excess. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
6. Ubl, Sam (7 February 2005). "Staff Lists: The Top 100 Albums of 2000–04". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2013-12-08.