Listen: Art Decade - "No One's Waiting"

Boston symphonic rock outfit Art Decade may have just released their debut full length Western Sunrise last year but that doesn't seem to have stopped them from getting back to work on a follow up. "No One's Waiting", the first peek at a forthcoming record finds Art Decade right where they left off - out of bristly forest of the punky rock jams and back among a blanket of glistening string arrangements.

Rather like "Western Sunrise" or "The Impossible", "No One's Waiting" vocals are downright anthemic, building from a subtle climb that slowly incorporates the strings with it's driving drums. Another example of Talmi's genre-straddling abilities, "No One's Waiting" doesn't rely strongly on either the indie rock growl or the orchestral pop flair, taking what's necessary from both and balancing them alongside each other. The result is a sort of ebb and flow that always returns to the middle ground but plays with that balance in interesting ways before embarking on a climactic rise that walks both influences hand and hand to a rather cathartic release.
  

Pitstop: Art Decade

                                                            (photo by Hadley Brooks)

  

Back when I interviewed Young Man's Colin Caulfield about his latest album Beyond Was All Around Me, he mentioned the assistance of Boston based composer/arranger Ben Talmi. While I had kind of naturally assumed that was merely all there was to Talmi - a go-to arranger for artist's looking to have the string arrangements on their album really sparkle, I discovered however that Talmi had a project of his own: an orchestral pop rock band by the name of Art Decade.

It's no secret with my love of bands like Friend Roulette and Young Dreams that the way to my heart is with artful utilized strings and that's exactly what Art Decade does so well. Instead of your standard chamber pop bands that seem to rely on certain instruments as mere ornamental fodder, the strings of Art Decade are very much a part of its DNA, at least in terms of their recorded output. 

You see, Art Decade is composed of your standard rock foursome of instruments: Guitar, bass, drums,  a multi-instrumentalist every-man and sometimes that's exactly what you get like in the case of "Weapon" or "Steam Punk Sticker War". It's an interesting juxtaposition to say the least. That Art Decade can go from roaring dance-rock to delicate orchestral pop in the course of a single album. The transitions are less jarring than you'd expect due to Talmi and company blending the rock and orchestral elements so effortlessly, able to strip them back or color them in without it seemingly like anything is really missing. 

What sets Art Decade apart from all the other orchestral pop bands I have heretofore pledged my allegiance to is just how much they lean into a notable rock influence at times. It not all pristine artfully detailed musical moments; there's moments of high intensity grooves and true rock grit. Basically there's a little something for everyone as Art Decade hits every gradation of symphonic rock. 

So if Art Decade's orchestral rock pop sounds like your forte you can stream/buy/download their debut album Western Sunrise here.