The Scottish punks share the first track off their forthcoming EP

Declan Welsh and The Decadent West released their latest single, Another One, earlier this month. 

As a Scottish indie-punk band, Declan Welsh and The Decadent West are relatively new on the music scene, having released their first album, Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold, in 2019. Despite their relative newness on the music scene, they are already making huge waves with their social-political lyrics, expertly crafted by frontman and singer-songwriter Declan Welsh.

Listening to their first album, it’s clear that social-political issues are central to the music of Declan Welsh and The Decadent West. For example, they performed in Palestine with an orchestra of child refugees, an experience that undoubtedly influenced the song, Different Strokes. It’s haunting lyrics, all the move relevant today, as tensions flare again in Palestine. 

The latest single, Another One, has a different feel to their first album. While the lyrics are still dripping with the same thematic style of Declan’s previous work, the music itself is much more subdued.

The song’s tone reminds me more of The Smiths or The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen, with its eerie, slow, rather plodding tone that creates a sense of melancholy, perfectly paired with the Another One’s high-strung lyrics. Lyrics, which detail Declan’s feelings during the lockdown; feelings of hopelessness, fears of how he will return to everyday life and fears of the unknown.

“I’ve become scared of the endless expanse that lays dormant outside my front door / What if I’ve forgotten things? What if I can’t dance? What if I couldn’t before? / All that I’m saying / Is that I’ve no reason / To set the alarm…”  

In my view, Declan Welsh and The Decadent West’s newest single perfectly captures the sense of confusion and hopelessness I’m sure we all felt during the lockdowns. Declan has a way of drawing you in with his hypnotic lyrics and well-crafted melodies. 

I highly recommend you check out Another One, as well as their earlier work. I, for one, am excited to see what’s next for this young Scottish band.