Two EPs released in 2004 as a single LP – 5 Songs was originally self-released (not on a label) in 2001 and The Tain on Acuarela Discos (an independent Spanish label) in 2003 .

Although The Tain is broken up into five parts, it’s really one single 18 minute song, named after an Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie engineered and added vocals. The video, by Andy Simetanka tells the story of the epic.

5 Songs actually came out earlier, despite being the B-side of the joint LP. It was self-released and actually has six songs on it, with “Apology Song” being written later and added when the EP was re-released by Hush Records in 2003.

Some of the places mentioned in “Apology Song” are places in Missoula (Meloy got a degree in Creative Writing from The University of Montana) – Frenchtown Pond State Park, the Orange Street Food Farm. Perhaps the greatest apology for a stolen bicycle ever turned into a pop song.

My copy from the merch table at a Decemberists show in Boston.