It’s album number ten for the Welsh trio and expectations are not high, following 2016’s All Bright Electric and lead singer Grant Nicholas’ solo album.  Neither were terrible but they were unmemorable.  Even after reading the review I wrote three years ago for album nine, I can’t recall any of the music.

From the opening track there is no doubt that we are listening to a ‘90s band.  In fact the first song, ‘Youth’, sounds like a reworking of Busted’s ouevre.  I don’t mean that in a disparaging way.  After the comparative dreariness of Feeder’s recent output, a little upbeat pop rockery is most welcome.  It’s easy to see why it was chosen to open the album.  Unfortunately, ‘Youth’ is a false dawn and Tallulah reveals itself as an uninspired drudge through dinner party rock.  

There are occasional highlights along the way.  ‘Fear Of Flying’ sounds like a Bob Mould song and ‘Kite’ has a George Harrison vibe.  It’s puzzling that ‘Tallulah’ has been elected as the title of the record. It could be a Duran Duran album track.  Similarly ‘Guillotine’ is an instantly forgettable dirge.  It makes one grateful for the heavy metal thunder of ‘Kyoto’.  It’s an unmistakably ‘90s sort of metal but, nonetheless, it is invigorating and reminds the listener of a triumphant past in which this band played stadia with Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age. 

Tallulah is a pleasant, unobtrusive listen but  I can’t help but expect more from this band. They are older now and their songwriting and composition have evolved but their style has not. Many of these songs would work better as an acoustic trio, for example. Feeder’s commitment to ‘90s adult rock tropes ages these tunes before their time. Maybe it’s time for an new approach.

You can order Tallulah here

A savagely sardonic swipe at scenester culture, the ’No Fun’ video delivers visuals as sharp of wit and dry of humour as the expertly acerbic lyrics by Declan Welsh & The Decadent West that soundtrack it. Equal measures chaotic and comical, new single ‘No Fun’ is a snarky riposte to all the pouters and posers found to be draining the life from your typical Glasgow party. From the appropriation of Scottish working class ‘buckfast’ culture, to that one guy wearing a bucket hat ironically blaring out ‘80s cheese, desperate to be the life of the party, ‘No Fun’ takes aim at the various forms of ‘party chat’ encountered in a Glasgow flat at 3am.

As Declan explains: “ ‘No Fun’ is about the inflated self importance of the kind of people who get full of it at a party and corner you to tell you about how they went on holiday and seen "the real Thailand". It's about folk with no self awareness. It's about people who think they are the kings of all banter because they put on a funny hat at 3am. It's about people who say the word sesh with no hint

‘No Fun’ also follows ‘Absurd’ and ‘Different Strokes’ as the latest single to emerge from Declan & co’s long-awaited debut album, Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold, which has recently been confirmed for release on October 18 via the Modern Sky UK label.

Declan Welsh is a songwriter and poet from Glasgow. With his band, The Decadent West they create music that is unapologetic, direct and with a message of humanity. With sold out shows across Scotland and performances as diverse as in Palestine (as part of a Glaswegian cultural exchange), The Great Escape, Reeperbahn and London Fashion Week, The Decadent West have solidified themselves as one of Scotland’s most promising talents.