They are known for crafting exquisite baroque-inspired pop songs and are considered one of indie rock's shining hopes.

But dig a little deeper into The Decemberists collection of songs and you'll find the five-piece has more in common with classic folk than the wiry and choppy guitar sound associated with many current indie bands.

Take the Portland, Ore., group's latest release, The Hazards of Love.

While there are moments of sheer rocking out -- drums thrashing and guitars ablazin' -- it is largely influenced by the '60s British Folk Revival movement.

"(Singer and songwriter Colin Meloy) was so far into British folk music he kind of couldn't help it when writing this record," says Decemberists drummer John Moen.

"Anne Briggs is one of his favourite artists. He's always talking about her and he definitely drew a lot from her. We're all fans of Fairport Convention and to an extent, Steeleye Span. We're fans of music so what we're listening to often influences where we go next."

As with their 2006 breakthrough album, The Crane Wife, The Decemberists latest record -- which shares the name of Briggs' 1966 EP -- follows a narrative thread.

This time the protagonist is a woman named Margaret who falls in love with a shape-shifting forest creature and is introduced to a strange cast of mythical characters.

"It's kind of like found object art," explains Moen. "Margaret is a recurring theme in a lot of British folk. A lot of plot moments are the same and have come up a million times in folk songs. He (Meloy) is definitely borrowing that and arranging it into his own big heap o' song."

The Decemberists are currently on tour with their Hazards of Love show, in which they perform the album in its entirety.

The band will perform the full show, plus a few tracks from previous records at Prince's Island Park tomorrow night as part of this year's Calgary Folk Music Festival.

"It will probably be more of a smattering of songs from our repertoire," says Moen. "We don't really plan much in advance."

Moen says he has noticed folk and bluegrass festivals are asking The Decemberists to join their lineups recently.

"We definitely have a love of all these forms of music and we're lucky that these festivals are open-minded enough that they're not strictly a folk festival anymore."