2

Declan Welsh and The Decadent West release their long awaited second album entitled 2. Recorded between Los Angeles and Glasgow throughout the previous 12 months, the album offers a distinct shift from the taut alternative rock that saw them gather a fervent fan base across Scotland, the rest of the UK, Europe and the Americas – signaling a band with ambitions far beyond what they have already achieved. 2 encapsulates a band with expanded horizons, harnessing a broad scope of influence from In Rainbows era Radiohead, to the New Romantic electronic soaked music of the 1980’s. Written and demoed entirely from Welsh’s bedroom during lockdown, 2 sees the bands sound mature, while retaining the acerbic lyricism and melodic focus present on their earlier work. Lush harmonies, intricate guitar and synth work by guitarist Duncan McBride (1 half of the Glasgow based radio show and clubnight ‘The Queer History Of Dance Music’), the bass grooves of Ben Corlett and percussion of drummer Murray Noble pull “2” in varied and expansive directions – from bedroom hyper pop (‘100-1) to cinematic alt rock (‘Reckon’), casting aside any preconceived notion of what a band from Glasgow can be. 2 evokes the experience of coming to terms with a world in which we are increasingly isolated and uncertain. Welsh’s experimentation and continued obsession with songwriting led to over 100 demos, with the final 10 tracks making up the band’s most complete work to date – traversing topics of self-doubt (‘King Of My Head’), isolation and apathy towards global conflict (‘Ok Now’).