Decoration
Pine
Decoration are about as indie pop as it gets as jangly guitars, plain vocals, and bitter-sweet songs are the order of the day. The Lightening Seeds mixed with U2 is the best description for ‘Pine’, which sees down-beat lyrics about a break-up mingling with the chirpy bass and busy guitars. David Essex’s ‘Hold Me Close’ is parodied in the chorus and some interesting reversed clapping and megaphone static voices are added to the already layered mix.
‘I Just Froze’ adds a festive theme to proceedings, while retaining the melancholy heartbreak undercurrents. This isn’t as strong a song as ‘Pine’, lacking the gutsy guitars and heading down a slightly more predictable route, but the chorus makes it worth a listen.
Cold keyboards and a drum beat reminiscent of something from The Cure’s early years introduce ‘See You in the New Year’, which has a music thread that is more matched to the sadness of the lyrics. To counteract the slightly depressing nature of this song ( an indication of the emotional power of music) Decoration have sensibly limited this song to two minutes – a length that allows it to express itself pleasantly without drawing down your mood too much.
The vocal is a bit of an acquired taste, but its well worth listening to it to pick up on the stories that are woven into the songs.
Written by Fenton on
