"What if it’s all just the jingle of the keys / The shining of a light / The subtle misdirection / The markets hand is slight / And despite all my affection / For the sound of my own voice / Is there a point to all the..."
The massive politico feargach punk pummel of "Inaction", by Glasgow punk quartet Declan Welsh and The Decadent West, that pounds a fist on it's own chest while stabbing you with a pointed finger in your chest is tumultuous, feral and thought provoking. At least you will ruminate on things while you lay in your own blood (figuratively speaking). I absolutely love the distorted bass sound, the unrelenting run to the fire drum beat, the sonic screaming guitars that fluster like air raid sirens and, of course, Declan Welsh's pervasive vocal countenance with a wide vast persona who can wail like a feral mythical creature (farshee??) and can woo, cajole in a rather art rockian way.
"Inaction" is a call to arms, a call to do something ethical, moral amidst the seemingly unmovable forces in the Middle East, with innocents in Gaza as political, religious fodder.
LINER NOTES:
New track ‘Inaction’ combines the frenetic energy of their first record, with the layers and lyricism of the second to produce the most direct and acerbic single the band have ever produced. At 188 bpm, this is a song written for the live crowds, and as a response to the continued inaction of our politicians, media and general citizens in the face of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. "Hours and days and months/poured into discussing all there is to discuss" and yet no meaningful change. It is an emotional, angry, rapid punk song designed to shake those who listen out of talking and into action.
Declan Welsh: ‘This is a song written after nearly a year of watching the worst things imaginable happen to people on a daily basis live-streamed while everyone has various debates about whether it should happen, and we all stand up and say that it shouldn’t while it continues. It is a criticism of the idea of debate in and of itself, and of the limits of free discussion and expression as a tool to be used by people to change things. It’s a frenetic, frustrated, five hundred mile an hour punk song designed to be played live and felt.’
Like any great politico song, the ultimately human bloodbath of laypeople pounding fists and their how heads against walls, politicians pulling strings until citizens are at their own throats due to gaslighting, due to manipulations until we are numb and death can be drawn out past the point of no return. I love the lyrics, all of them but maybe the last third punches me in the stomach the hardest.
"Debates placate the need innate
"Inaction" is a call to arms, a call to do something ethical, moral amidst the seemingly unmovable forces in the Middle East, with innocents in Gaza as political, religious fodder.
LINER NOTES:
New track ‘Inaction’ combines the frenetic energy of their first record, with the layers and lyricism of the second to produce the most direct and acerbic single the band have ever produced. At 188 bpm, this is a song written for the live crowds, and as a response to the continued inaction of our politicians, media and general citizens in the face of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. "Hours and days and months/poured into discussing all there is to discuss" and yet no meaningful change. It is an emotional, angry, rapid punk song designed to shake those who listen out of talking and into action.
Declan Welsh: ‘This is a song written after nearly a year of watching the worst things imaginable happen to people on a daily basis live-streamed while everyone has various debates about whether it should happen, and we all stand up and say that it shouldn’t while it continues. It is a criticism of the idea of debate in and of itself, and of the limits of free discussion and expression as a tool to be used by people to change things. It’s a frenetic, frustrated, five hundred mile an hour punk song designed to be played live and felt.’
Like any great politico song, the ultimately human bloodbath of laypeople pounding fists and their how heads against walls, politicians pulling strings until citizens are at their own throats due to gaslighting, due to manipulations until we are numb and death can be drawn out past the point of no return. I love the lyrics, all of them but maybe the last third punches me in the stomach the hardest.
"Debates placate the need innate
for us to feel like we participate
But that we see an oasis shaped
Is no proof we don’t hallucinate
We validate the mandate
Of private corporations
Who sell us ethics as asthetics
As status updates
And what if it’s all a machine that by design
Takes what will destroy it and makes it so benign
Like a picture of Guevara on shirt that’s made in Taiwan
As long as the colour is black, you can have any car you want
What if it’s all just the jingle of the keys
The shining of a light
The subtle misdirection
The markets hand is slight
And despite all my affection
For the sound of my own voice
Is there a point to all the
Talk talk
Chit chat
Talk talk
Chit chat"
In the end, "Inaction" is a head pounder, an artful reminder to do something. Whichever side you are on it is important to stare at the horrors, educate yourself and do something other than feel so overwhelmed that you just decide to play video games or watch sports instead.
LINER NOTES:
Declan Welsh & The Decadent West are a band from East Kilbride in Glasgow with a focus on intelligent, relatable lyrics, catchy hooks and an electric live show. A prolific writer, Welsh and his band (Duncan McBride - Guitar, Ben Corlett - Bass and Murray Noble - Drums) have released a wealth of EPs and two albums to critical acclaim, receiving a Scottish Album of The Year Award nomination for their debut Cheaply Bought Expensively Sold, as well as BBC Introducing Track of the Week for its opener ‘No Fun’. With their unrelenting fast-paced punk, the band have seen press support from titles such as CLASH, The Line of Best Fit, Louder Than War, When The Horn Blows, The Scotsman, Beats Per Minute, and Under the Radar among many others.
Being championed by the likes of Jack Saunders, Billy Bragg and Arielle Free, the past few years has seen them tour relentlessly, with the band racking up appearances at Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and TRNSMT Festival (UK), Reeperbahn Festival (Germany), Bet Lahem Live (Palestine), Oberkampf Festival (France) and many more.
-Robb Donker Curtius
But that we see an oasis shaped
Is no proof we don’t hallucinate
We validate the mandate
Of private corporations
Who sell us ethics as asthetics
As status updates
And what if it’s all a machine that by design
Takes what will destroy it and makes it so benign
Like a picture of Guevara on shirt that’s made in Taiwan
As long as the colour is black, you can have any car you want
What if it’s all just the jingle of the keys
The shining of a light
The subtle misdirection
The markets hand is slight
And despite all my affection
For the sound of my own voice
Is there a point to all the
Talk talk
Chit chat
Talk talk
Chit chat"
In the end, "Inaction" is a head pounder, an artful reminder to do something. Whichever side you are on it is important to stare at the horrors, educate yourself and do something other than feel so overwhelmed that you just decide to play video games or watch sports instead.
LINER NOTES:
Declan Welsh & The Decadent West are a band from East Kilbride in Glasgow with a focus on intelligent, relatable lyrics, catchy hooks and an electric live show. A prolific writer, Welsh and his band (Duncan McBride - Guitar, Ben Corlett - Bass and Murray Noble - Drums) have released a wealth of EPs and two albums to critical acclaim, receiving a Scottish Album of The Year Award nomination for their debut Cheaply Bought Expensively Sold, as well as BBC Introducing Track of the Week for its opener ‘No Fun’. With their unrelenting fast-paced punk, the band have seen press support from titles such as CLASH, The Line of Best Fit, Louder Than War, When The Horn Blows, The Scotsman, Beats Per Minute, and Under the Radar among many others.
Being championed by the likes of Jack Saunders, Billy Bragg and Arielle Free, the past few years has seen them tour relentlessly, with the band racking up appearances at Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and TRNSMT Festival (UK), Reeperbahn Festival (Germany), Bet Lahem Live (Palestine), Oberkampf Festival (France) and many more.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
FIND THE BAND ONLINE:
TIKTOK / INSTAGRAM / SPOTIFY / WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE
Joined by Duncan McBride (Guitar), Ben Corlett (Bass) and Murray Noble (Drums), the band are known for their strong socialist views and performed in Palestine in 2016 as well as Billy Bragg’s curated Leftfield Stage at Glastonbury. Releasing the All My Dreams Are Dull EP back in 2018, they built a strong following in the Scottish indie scene thanks to their anthems about toxic masculinity, rent increases, the rise of right-wing fascists and battling the intolerance that surrounds us. Now, debut album Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold sees the four-piece build upon this raucous political fury, enforcing the idea that in today’s environment, we’re unable to ignore the atrocities forging our existential dread.
Welsh began writing songs on his acoustic guitar in his teens. Once Duncan, Ben and Murray came onboard, West wrote a bunch of new songs and pushed his native accent to the forefront of his output, delivering dexterous word play with tender sentimentality, contemplative resolution and confrontational gusto. While social issues are a central focus of this artistic expression, single ‘Absurd’ also asserts the need for self reflection in the midst of these political issues. “Don't just say stuff to look like you have moral fibre,” he explains. “Forgive yourself for the fact we all have to exist, and try your best to self reflect and be a better artist and human being – not for yourself but because the world needs better artists and better human beings.”
Releasing a poetry pamphlet called 'If You Like That Sort Of Thing', Welsh often begins the band’s sets with spoken word poetry performance. Track ‘Do What You Want’ was also re-imagined as a spoken word piece for the Teatum Jones opening show at London Fashion week earlier this year. Nourishing Welsh’s talent as a wordsmith, the four-piece are able to transform these musings into indie-pop bangers that call back to the catchy hooks of the early 00s.
Recorded at 7west and produced by Glasgow staple Chris Marshall (Gerry Cinnamon, The Dunts, Van Ts, Baby Strange), the album affirms the message that politics are always personal. They’re tethered to our every day and whether it’s through music, social media or conversations with friends, this need for collective comfort and camaraderie is more important than ever.
There’s stand-out track ‘The Dream’ which sees the group internally advocate for a left communist school of thought and reference the likes of Simone De Beaviour, Jean Paul Satre, Karl Marx, Angela Davis and more. “I think that the struggle for the rights of every human being and the struggle against this system is a noble aim,” Welsh explains. “This is me having a wobble then coming out redder than ever.” Lead single ‘How Does Your Love’ celebrates this power of coming together by honouring the catharsis of provincial nightclubs; their unapologetic, sticky dancefloors and the beauty found in getting blitzed and kissing a stranger through the strobe lights. Sometimes all we want to do is get drunk and forget about our crappy week.
So how much can music change the world? As opener and single ‘No Fun’ cheekily asks in a London accent, who even listens to guitar music anymore? For Welsh and The Decadent West, it’s a need to create messages of solidarity to those that feel lost and unheard, providing an insatiable, refreshing contrast to the squawking suppressors. It’s about having a specific point of view and owning the real life experiences that make us the messy humans we are. “It’s this idea that actual political art is sometimes very necessary, but very much preaching at the crowd. A lot of these songs are trying to spark collective change,” he says. “I think everything you do is political. If you're not speaking for something, it’s political. If you are, it’s political.”
Following a string of tour cancellations due to the 2020 global pandemic, The Decadent West uncovered a series of demos deep within the collective dropbox and began piecing together what would become ‘We Wish You All The Best’, the bands second EP and first offering of new material since their 2019 debut album. Featuring lead single Ghosted, the EP sees Welsh at perhaps his most introspective, while refusing to shy away from his love of pop sensibility. Useful, written, recorded and mixed in lockdown explores the purpose of the artist in these times, with Welsh increasingly self-critical in the face of financial and societal uncertainty - a sentiment echoed further in Shame, an existential lament to the ‘unsolvable puzzle of unconsciousness’.
While Welsh does describe their musicality as “four guys playing guitar music”, it’s their unique, proactive point of view that sets them aside from the usual offerings. There’s a sense of searching for security in our surroundings and reflections of what can happen when we try and be our best selves. It’s four guys playing guitar music and fighting for what they believe in. “We know what most bands try and say in this genre. There's loads of different examples of people who fail to do good things by and large. The message of indie guitar bands is 'let’s go get pissed' and 'up the boys'. We know that and we're trying to subvert it a bit,” Welsh explains. “I think having a message about kindness, compassion and hope that some of the songs have and caring about other people in society is important altogether. I want people to connect with it and with us. Music should make you feel better.”
TIKTOK / INSTAGRAM / SPOTIFY / WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE
Finding your own unique point of view in an overwhelming, rowdy world takes time, patience and introspection. Being able to execute it in a way that feels authentic and distinctive is another battle entirely. Growing up in suburban East Kilbride and now based in Glasgow, Declan Welsh is a poet and songwriter that has managed to cement his individuality by putting humanity at the core of his comments about today’s current affairs. Along with his band The Decadent West, Welsh is here to use his music as a catalyst for hope and for change.
Joined by Duncan McBride (Guitar), Ben Corlett (Bass) and Murray Noble (Drums), the band are known for their strong socialist views and performed in Palestine in 2016 as well as Billy Bragg’s curated Leftfield Stage at Glastonbury. Releasing the All My Dreams Are Dull EP back in 2018, they built a strong following in the Scottish indie scene thanks to their anthems about toxic masculinity, rent increases, the rise of right-wing fascists and battling the intolerance that surrounds us. Now, debut album Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold sees the four-piece build upon this raucous political fury, enforcing the idea that in today’s environment, we’re unable to ignore the atrocities forging our existential dread.
Welsh began writing songs on his acoustic guitar in his teens. Once Duncan, Ben and Murray came onboard, West wrote a bunch of new songs and pushed his native accent to the forefront of his output, delivering dexterous word play with tender sentimentality, contemplative resolution and confrontational gusto. While social issues are a central focus of this artistic expression, single ‘Absurd’ also asserts the need for self reflection in the midst of these political issues. “Don't just say stuff to look like you have moral fibre,” he explains. “Forgive yourself for the fact we all have to exist, and try your best to self reflect and be a better artist and human being – not for yourself but because the world needs better artists and better human beings.”
Releasing a poetry pamphlet called 'If You Like That Sort Of Thing', Welsh often begins the band’s sets with spoken word poetry performance. Track ‘Do What You Want’ was also re-imagined as a spoken word piece for the Teatum Jones opening show at London Fashion week earlier this year. Nourishing Welsh’s talent as a wordsmith, the four-piece are able to transform these musings into indie-pop bangers that call back to the catchy hooks of the early 00s.
Recorded at 7west and produced by Glasgow staple Chris Marshall (Gerry Cinnamon, The Dunts, Van Ts, Baby Strange), the album affirms the message that politics are always personal. They’re tethered to our every day and whether it’s through music, social media or conversations with friends, this need for collective comfort and camaraderie is more important than ever.
There’s stand-out track ‘The Dream’ which sees the group internally advocate for a left communist school of thought and reference the likes of Simone De Beaviour, Jean Paul Satre, Karl Marx, Angela Davis and more. “I think that the struggle for the rights of every human being and the struggle against this system is a noble aim,” Welsh explains. “This is me having a wobble then coming out redder than ever.” Lead single ‘How Does Your Love’ celebrates this power of coming together by honouring the catharsis of provincial nightclubs; their unapologetic, sticky dancefloors and the beauty found in getting blitzed and kissing a stranger through the strobe lights. Sometimes all we want to do is get drunk and forget about our crappy week.
So how much can music change the world? As opener and single ‘No Fun’ cheekily asks in a London accent, who even listens to guitar music anymore? For Welsh and The Decadent West, it’s a need to create messages of solidarity to those that feel lost and unheard, providing an insatiable, refreshing contrast to the squawking suppressors. It’s about having a specific point of view and owning the real life experiences that make us the messy humans we are. “It’s this idea that actual political art is sometimes very necessary, but very much preaching at the crowd. A lot of these songs are trying to spark collective change,” he says. “I think everything you do is political. If you're not speaking for something, it’s political. If you are, it’s political.”
Following a string of tour cancellations due to the 2020 global pandemic, The Decadent West uncovered a series of demos deep within the collective dropbox and began piecing together what would become ‘We Wish You All The Best’, the bands second EP and first offering of new material since their 2019 debut album. Featuring lead single Ghosted, the EP sees Welsh at perhaps his most introspective, while refusing to shy away from his love of pop sensibility. Useful, written, recorded and mixed in lockdown explores the purpose of the artist in these times, with Welsh increasingly self-critical in the face of financial and societal uncertainty - a sentiment echoed further in Shame, an existential lament to the ‘unsolvable puzzle of unconsciousness’.
While Welsh does describe their musicality as “four guys playing guitar music”, it’s their unique, proactive point of view that sets them aside from the usual offerings. There’s a sense of searching for security in our surroundings and reflections of what can happen when we try and be our best selves. It’s four guys playing guitar music and fighting for what they believe in. “We know what most bands try and say in this genre. There's loads of different examples of people who fail to do good things by and large. The message of indie guitar bands is 'let’s go get pissed' and 'up the boys'. We know that and we're trying to subvert it a bit,” Welsh explains. “I think having a message about kindness, compassion and hope that some of the songs have and caring about other people in society is important altogether. I want people to connect with it and with us. Music should make you feel better.”
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