The Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy has shared a new song “Slint, Spiderland” which was written at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. This song was part of NPR’s Morning Edition Song Project, which asked multiple musicians to capture their perspective on the pandemic through an original song.

The track takes its name from the iconic 1991 album Spiderland by Slint, which is often considered a milestone for experimental rock. Spiderland’s recording was the subject of Breadcrumb Trail, a documentary Meloy was watching while he took breaks from writing his book during the quarantine.

“Slint, Spiderland” is done in neo-folk style, with Meloy singing earnestly about his experience of watching the documentary and handling life during the pandemic. During the second verse, he speaks more cryptically speaking of an incoming disaster that is set to leave nobody left alive. The song’s instrumental consists mostly of a single acoustic guitar, with some light organ at the end.

“Thing is about the lockdown and the quarantine, once we got past the initial [concerns] — like, how to get food, how to teach our kids and do our jobs at the same time — once that pattern had emerged, our lives as a stay-at-home writer and a stay-at-home illustrator were sort of bizarrely normal,” Meloy told NPR.

Meloy recently made an appearance alongside Jim James, Glen Hansard, Julien Baker, Valerie June, Andrew Bird and Grace Potter for a cover of Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love” during the Newport Festival live stream.

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna