ALBUM REVIEW: Decadence - Book of the Redeemed by Kevin Oliver

Decadence

Book Of The Redeemed

Self-released

 

There comes a time in the shelf life of a heavy rock band when the sum total of its experience and commitment adds up to a career defining moment, whether it’s that hit song that connects with a mass audience, or just an artistic statement that is so clearly above and beyond anything else they’ve done to that point. For Columbia’s Decadence, this new album Book of the Redeemed is the latter–an astounding, bracing listen that reveals more depth and meaning with every page that’s turned. 

The band has been a stalwart presence on the local and regional heavy music scene for a while, and this release was a long time coming–now we know why. Not only is the production and songwriting top notch, singer Scott McGrady’s lyrics are deeply personal. This had to be a difficult set of songs to write and record, not to mention let loose into the world for others to judge if they are worthy or not (They are.). 

Decadence straddles that line between commercial appeal and unapologetic, raw power better than most, and the production on the new songs showcases the intensity of the band’s sound, with stop-start arrangements that drop out completely, then blast back moments later with even more unrestrained fury. Drummer Ben Burris and bassist Ryan Wicker have played together long enough now they move and groove like a single unit, powering the monster riffs that cut through each tune. McGrady has a decent singing voice when the song calls for it, but most of these tracks require his most angst-laden, guttural near-screams. 

The content of the lyrics is as intense as the music, and McGrady has said online that there is an intentional running theme present, related to a friend who dealt with abandonment, pain, and anger, and moving on from that. “Abandonment” relates a story of being placed in foster care, inserting a line out of a childhood prayer to really drive home the innocence lost in the process:

 

Strangers tuck me in my bed

Shuffled through this castoff’s deck so

Now I lay me down to rest

Left alone through your abandonment

 

The most furious track is “Take Your Shot,” which addresses that person with a problem that won’t allow anyone to help, or even admit they need help in the first place. It’s like the band pours that frustration directly into the stacked guitar riffs of Dustin Welch, as McGrady sings: 

 

Tell me how to understand

Why you need to live this way

While I watch you take another shot at what this could have been

 

The somewhat title cut “Redemption” is the slowest, most melodic one of the bunch. McGrady channels Roger Daltrey of the Who, circa “Behind Blue Eyes,” as he sings the chorus in triumph: 

 

And now I see

A new dawn rising

I feel redemption

And I’ll leave

It all behind me

Won’t let it blind me

 

This is the sound of someone, or maybe some band, that’s gone through hell, come out the other side intact, now appreciating but not dwelling on the experience. Sounds a lot like they’ve been redeemed, doesn’t it? 

 

Decadence releases Book of the Redeemed officially this Saturday, with a release show at New Brookland Tavern that will also feature The Baldwin Massacre, Ozmyridis, and Sorrow Of Silence. 

 

An Ode to Garage Rock (In Appreciation of the Woggles) by Kevin Oliver

(Photo: Steven W. Terrell)

Rock ‘n’ roll is old enough to have a Hall of Fame and a museum, and enough subgenres to confuse even the most dedicated music fan. One of the constants, however, has been “garage rock,” a subgenre of rock that’s indebted to raw, unfiltered sounds coming from a basic guitar/bass/drums band from the 1960s. Think Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs, The Kingsmen (of “Louie Louie” fame), The Standells (“Dirty Water”), The Troggs (“Wild Thing”) and many more. It’s an energetic, danceable style, something that has probably fueled its enduring popularity over the years, to the point where there are now “Garage Rock Revival” acts keeping the original style alive in various ways. 

One of the latter is the long-running Atlanta band The Woggles, which has been around in some form or another for over 30 years, so to call them “revivalists” may not be entirely accurate–they probably influenced many of the newer bands themselves.  

Featuring a two-guitar lineup, classic bass and drums rhythm section, and the irrepressible frontman “The Professor” Mighty Manfred, The Woggles have taken the garage rock blueprint and built their own sound on that foundation. 60s British Invasion, R&B and soul music classics and more form the border-less abandon of a Woggles show, with Manfred holding court up front as a slightly lunatic ringmaster of his own rock ‘n’ roll circus. It’s like a “Nuggets” compilation manifested in human form on whatever stage they appear on. 

The problem with writing about a band like The Woggles is that there’s no real substitute for actually hearing them or seeing them live. So, in preparation for this Friday night’s Art Bar show, here’s a quick primer on some of the best Woggles tunes:

 

My Baby Likes To Boogaloo” 

From their 1992 debut LP “Teen Dance Party,” this is a cover of an obscure 60’s tune from Don Gardner; it’s typical of the dance numbers they would make their name on. 

Sweet Tea

From 1998’s “Wailin’ With The Woggles,” this one shows off their mostly instrumental surf rock tendencies, a fun side of the band. 

Zombie Stomp

A must-have for your Halloween playlists, this one from 1996’s “Get Tough!” is another surf-rock style number but with spooky sounds added.  

Take it To The People

A veritable mission statement for the ever-touring Woggles, this one’s a great showcase of the slightly unhinged vocals of Manfred. From the 2012 album “The Big Beat.”  

Collector of Broken Hearts

While not quite a ballad, this one proves that The Woggles can slow down a bit and throw out some great melodic pop tunes when they want to. Great harmonica solo here, too.  

I Got a Line On You

A terrific cover of the Spirit classic that takes the dizzying speed of the original and fuzzes everything up even more. From the 2005 collection of singles, “Soul Sizzling 7” Meltdown.” 

 

The Woggles with the Capital City Playboys:

Art Bar

Friday, May 19th 

9:30 PM

Facebook event: