June was a monumental month for Declan Welsh and The Decadent West. Not only did they release the ironic and chaotic track No Fun, but the title of their long-awaited debut album (Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold) was also revealed. Set to feature their previous singles Absurd and Different Strokes, the album's official release will be in October this year. On top of all this news, Declan and the band also played an unbelievable set at Glastonbury last weekend, rounding off a busy month of sold-out gigs across the country.
Despite what the title suggests, No Fun is every bit as snappy, humorous and tongue-in-cheek as what the fans of Glasgow's favourite poet-fronted band are used to. From even the first glance at the cover art, we are presented with an image we may well be very used to- two guys sitting on the couch at a party, one looking like he's chatting absolute shite, and one longing to get away from him. The song goes on to tell the story of just that. A frantic guitar strumming followed by an explosive drum roll opens the track perfectly, and in the background there's a sarky chatty monologue that would be right at home at 4am in somebody's West End flat from a guy wearing an ill-fitting "vintage" sweatshirt (bought for £60 from Urban Outfitters) who proceeds to talk to you about the Berlin techno scene for an hour even though you didn't ask. "Who even listens to guitar music anymore?" it drones, timed with a biting guitar solo coming in to take the song to the first verse, and it weaves in and out throughout the song, never really going away- much like in real life.
Declan Welsh's lyric-writing ability is unrivalled. Each song of theirs paints a perfect picture, and this is no exception. The head-banging chorus of "You're no fun at a party" is no doubt going to be a massive crowd pleaser when it comes to playing it live. The dry, sardonic narrative calls out this very specific type of partygoer and tells them to pack it all in- the drinking Buckfast from a cup, the appropriation of working-class culture and, of course, the commandeering of the speaker to put on terrible songs (probably skipping the Spotify queue in the process). "No-one cares if you took all the drugs" snarls Declan over and over, his sharp Glaswegian accent unmistakable. Humerous but without being cheesy, this track proves that the band's song and riff-writing talents are on another level.
We may have a while to wait until the debut album, but if this track and either of the previous ones are anything to go by, it will be more than worth the wait.
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