Album Review: Declan Welsh & The Decadent West - '2'
The explosive Glaswegian four-piece flaunt with their follow-up, "2".
I first fell into this band on a whim 6 months ago, when they were set to perform at Rough Trade Nottingham in April. Projecting tightly-sweetened riffs among a rebellious bout of political parley, the collective felt like a lightning in a bottle. With their raw energy and swaggering confidence, they rifled off some of their greatest so far - Absurd, No Fun, Aw The Time. Like all bands do, they also managed to squeeze in promoting their second album by playing a few tracks. As expected, the highly-strung Mercy was well received. And just like that, the gig was over before it had even really begun.
Flash forward to 6 months later, and the album in question is set to release this Friday. A delightful rep to it's modern-day punks, Glasgow and the colossal alternative sounds falling off the city edges, DWDW are truly cooking up a storm. They're not exactly strangers to the scene either. They've played the prestigious Barrowlands, aswell as full tour support run with fellow friends Twin Atlantic and even landed a TRNSMT main stage slot alongside Pulp.
Of course, DWDW's 2 offers a more distinct shift from the taut alternative rock we first see in their audacious debut, Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold back in 2019. Instead, the sequel is more introspective, reflective and spaced; almost like watching people and our outside universe from afar. With either scepticism or intrigue, it's all on show here.
The album is also far more emotive than anything Declan have created in the past. While synthetic-heavy King of my Head takes the lead on discussions in isolation and anxiety; upbeat indie-jerker 100 to 1 (Saturday Night) takes an outward point of view into our dependability with human connection. The album's focal point however, is almost certainly at the starting line with Mercy. A proper rock belter, it flirts with the idea that DWDW may be arena-ready. This album toys with the conventions of synthetics as it tussles and toys with an album seemingly ladled in analogue guitar-heavy whiffs, quips and bends. 2 also becomes the first of firsts for Declan in some of the best lyrics he's ever managed to scrawl down for studio work; as the album reaches a new boiling ambition for mature songwriting. There's certainly more layers to unpack as the funky underside of First To Know revels in feeling as low as you can and simply wanting out - "I took a walk to the pier today, and I just stared at the sea. I reached the end and I know that I, I couldn't do that to you." The anxiety disco of Doing Great gives off major Prince grooves while the beautifully sad lyrics give off something else entirely - "I just think I sometimes lose sight of who I am.. these daaaays" . The album ends with Hardly News - an acoustic ballad-y remorse of and The Comedian - two outwardly awkward stumbling-into-love songs that remain equally ambivalent as they are true.
2 is more a homecoming for DWDW. With the album a product of its environment, the album is introspective while also giving it plenty of space to breathe in between swooning synth lines and groovy bass bumbles. It's an odd sort of melancholia and it fits the persona of the band remarkably. True to their name, it's perfectly decadent in design.
Words by Alex Curle
