Portland mayor declares 20 January as 'Decemberists Day'

What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World is our next week, with a recent Facebook post from the band announcing that the city's mayor has officially declared 20 January as 'Decemberists Day'. "We're not kidding, there's going to be a ceremony at City Hall where mayor Charlie Hales will present us with an official proclamation, penned by Lemony Snicket (so you know this is very serious)," the band write.

Read the full statement below:

"We're honored to have our release date, January 20th, officially declared as “Decemberists Day” in our collective hometown of Portland. We're not kidding, there's going to be a ceremony at City Hall where mayor Charlie Hales will present us with an official proclamation, penned by Lemony Snicket (so you know this is very serious). The free event, which you're all invited to, will also feature an unveiling of a collaborative art piece inspired by the album that was created by 50 local Portland artists and small businesses. We'll be performing a few songs for our new subjects so be sure to arrive by 2pm sharp.

Let us know if you have any suggestions of how one should commemorate ‪#‎DecemberistsDay‬!"

What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World is released on 19 January (UK) / 20 January (North America) through Rough Trade. Read the Best Fit review here.