When Colin Meloy and his bandmates in the Decemberists took a break in 2011, the agenda was open-ended. The band's steady growth had paid off in a new commercial peak - the Portland quintet's "The King is Dead" had debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. But Meloy, guitarist Chris Funk, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query and drummer John Moen wanted off the record-release-tour cycle they had been on for a decade.