Good Luck

Decade

Decade, for whatever reason, sadly never hit it big. It is absolutely beyond me because they are one of the greatest pop punk and alternative rock bands of the 2010s, and yet not many are even aware of them. For a little background, Decade was originally called Ready Set Low, and they came from humble beginnings jumping onto the easycore craze at the tail end of the 2000s. The songs were super catchy, and while some of my friends have described Alex Sears' voice to be rather plain, I thought he had a pleasant, clean, youthful voice that I happened to enjoy quite a bit. The band would grow over the course of four years, changing their name and gradually dropping the easycore elements in favour of more angsty grunge and alternative rock. By the time their debut Good Luck came out in 2013, I felt like the band had finally come into their own. No gimmicky, predictable, pop punk with breakdowns, but instead we have songs with more nuanced chord progressions, exciting and dynamic song structures, and no one can tell me anymore that Sears' voice is plain. Sears' voice sounds weathered - at times strained - but never to the point where his voice breaks or loses connection with the notes. It hangs in this curious balance where it is not too gruff, but also not super clean. Not punk. Not pop. It's perfectly pop punk.

If you want a good starting point, than listen to the album's first single Brainfreeze. It is literally perfect. Lets just go down the list: awesome guitar hook, stellar chord progression, Sears airing his frustrations cathartically on the verses with solid help from guitarist Connor Fathers, infectious 'ouuuuus' layered in the chorus, the breakdown tease at the very end of the song, it checks all the boxes. This song is seriously a masterclass in pop punk.

Other songs on here are strong just by virtue of having amazingly written, impactful choruses. The chorus on album opener Good Luck, has driving rhythm guitars that deliver sharp shots of open strum dissonance between the chord changes, a sound I will never get sick of. On top of this we have an awesome sing-a-long melody and an awesome guitar lead that comes in half way through. The way it resolves at the very end of the chorus is bliss. The chorus on British Weather is also fantastic thanks to its catchy vocal melody, but you don't feel the full weight of it until the chorus is repeated in half-time towards the end.

Tracks like Callous and I Don't Care really show the more grunge and 90s alternative influences the band had shifted to. The former is a little more angsty from start to finish and that is mostly due to Sears' forceful, pitch shifting delivery and the rising chromatic chord progression. The latter, however, alternates between the grunge sections and pop punk sections flawlessly. The more pop punk sections have your typical double-timed punk beat, and I also really love the sections where the guitars ride out for a moment to allow Sears to deliver his line before going into an oddly timed phrase with quick chord changes. The chorus is where the angst comes in with some more annoyed performances from Sears and a rather angular guitar riff.

The only negative I can really give is that the final two tracks lose a little steam. Homebound, eight tracks deep at this point, doesn't really offer up anything all that new or exciting. And the final track Fake Teeth, is an aptly named slow ballad that does give the record a good sense of finality, but ultimately doesn't end on a very rousing note. I'm telling you though - aside from these two songs - this record is filled with nothing but heat. It kills me that not many have heard of this band, despite displaying incredible songwriting talents, modern, heavy, radio friendly production, and having the backing from a very prominent rock and metal label. It's a real head scratcher. But now you know, and I'm now setting you free to go dive into this awesome band.