Decay - 'Staring At The Sun' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Staring At The Sun

2. September 27th

3. Empty Feeling

4. ACHE

5. Feel Better

6. Hold on

7. Misery

8. ENDLESS SILENCE

9. Comfortable

10. 23

Liverpool Post-Hardcore newcomers Decay have released their debut album, 'Staring At The Sun', via Fox Records.

The album begins with its title track, a slow, emotionally ponderous track with a sound akin to bands like American Football and relatable lyrics for anyone who has struggled with mental health issues, it provides a good introduction to the album and the ethos of Decay.

‘Empty Feeling’ picks up the pace of the album slightly, while still maintaining the same raw emotion. It provides a rather interesting riff that almost feels like an alternate universe Two Door Cinema Club song in the verse, which is by no means a bad thing. It builds very naturally within the chorus, and in turn provides a fresh and unique sound within a genre that many would say is becoming repetitive.

The standout track for me is between two, the first being ‘Hold On’; which begins with an extremely strong bassline and a slight edge of aggression, whilst still carrying that same emotion as the rest of the tracks on the album, which is extremely evident within the vocals, especially within the chorus. The other comes right after in the form of ‘Misery’, which expands on ‘Hold On’, bringing in a more overtly aggressive sound, with harsher vocals and a heavier riff, it has a distinct punk attitude to it. It shows that Decay can deliver on a wide range of styles and sounds.

'Staring At The Sun' is an extremely strong debut album, setting Decay up very nicely for the rest of their hopefully long-lived career ahead of them. The strongest facet of the album to me is the lyrics, delivering an extremely powerful experience throughout, I feel like this album is going to be included in the same conversations as the works of bands like Death Cab For Cutie, Joy Division and other highly emotional bands.