DECORATION: See You After The War (2008)

Just few days ago me and my girlfield has a long discussion about how everything changed since John Peel died. Since he is gone, it was not only listeners that lost an unique guide, but also those countless bands whom he so enthusiastically promoted. And so, we noticed how today the musical careers from bands like Ballboy, Wedding Present radically changed and how today they're lucky if they play in front of 200 people. Unfortunatelly, one of those bands is Decoration. Even though they managed to play only one Peel Session, they have all those trademark elements that would definitely make them one of the Peel favourite - it's those amazing melodies and clever lyrics they have. "See you after the war" is second Decoration album and unfortunatelly it has been traditionally difficult. The leaving of the drummer and few other tidbits turned the sound of the new album toward more melancholic and dark overtones. But as Stuart said it might had been even worse. Original sessions for the album were even more dark. Still, we are happy to report that Decoration are good in making sad songs as they are in making the happy ones and while "See you after the war" is not as immediate as their debut, it's still one of the best (if not the best) records of the year. One thing is obviously clear - this is not an album for those who have only ten minutes daily to enjoy in music. It's made for people who can take time to discover it and if you take the effort to do so, pretty soon you realize that the album is actually brilliant. "You've been busy", "Dutch Elm", "Square Mile" as well as "Somewhere in the Western Approaches" are all future classics while "Glasshouse" feels like it's created to be a stunning concert opener.



Still, you can't go against the fact. John Peel is gone and without his coverage there is a real possibility that not a lot of people will hear this cd. But who knows, miracles are known to happen - Gideon Coe seems to like it and Huw Stevens has declared it "Album of the Week". Decoration definitely deserve all this and we can only hope that next time we speak with them things will be going so well that the new album will be awfully happy.

grade [1-10]: 10

kris // 19/11/2008