Decomposer

The Matches

2006

pop punk, art rock

I'm currently in the process of reliving teenage years I've never had. Probably because I don't like the ones I actually had, or maybe because I haven't had the time to discover myself yet. All of this to say that I'm slowly transforming into an alternative girl from the 2010s with my little personal website and my iPod, but also with the music I'm listening to.

This is where this pop-punk album comes into play. Decomposer is really just a long teenage crisis, and I am HERE for it. It's catchy, it's violent, super "nobody understands me" (especially me because I have a hard time understanding the lyrics of a song if I don't look them up) with a voice that cracks all the time and instrumentals that would annoy any parent who hears them through the walls of their suburban home. It's an album that goes in all directions (probably because 9+ people participated in the production of the album), but remains super coherent in its strangeness, its simple yet turbo cool guitar riffs, its fun vocal rhythms to sing along to, and its straightforward harmonies that are still super pleasant.

Salty Eyes

Honestly having a song with violins and a cello to introduce a pop punk album is a ballsy move. It's so left field... but oh my god does it work. Even for a more orchestral song, you can feel the influences that will guide the rest of the album, and the level of weirdness indicates that this album is going to be a real blast. When the strings come in, then the big toms, and everything goes crescendo in the second chorus only to go completely silent, oh! I think I've just reached nirvana. The singer's voice is so funny on this song, it sounds like he's constantly disgusted by it. And the more "modern" instruments (guitar, drums, keyboard) complement the classical instruments so well, giving it a rhythm that would make Beethoven proud.

Drive

What an electric song! It really lives up to its name, I feel like I'm in a full-on car race during the more electro verses. By the way, the mix between more beep boop and more punk is a real treat. And when it hits the bridge, we get the first little vocal rhythm that's fun to sing along to, it sounds like he's doing little hops with each word. There are some really cool lyrics, like "What little we know about love / We stole from rock and roll", and they use the voice a lot as an instrument, like the "oh oh oh" that descend in the chorus or when the singer's voice transforms into a rising synthesizer, truly insane by the way. A song that makes you bounce in its verses, and headbang in its choruses, what more could you ask for?

Papercut Skin

Most songs in this album have a pretty simple instrumental in their verses, and way fuller choruses. It's a style that is very hit or miss in my opinion, but damn does it work in this song. Because the song holds back during the verses, it allows the choruses to explode. And they do so brilliantly, introduced by an "agaiiiiiiiin" that gives me chills and with a guitar that goes from a small cool lick to a full ambiance. We have our second vocal rhythm, that of the "Day out, day in!" in the verses, which contrasts really well with the same lyrics in the chorus that lose their rhythm but gain pure vitriol. When the singer gives his 100% (or as I wrote in my notes, "puts his whole vocal chordussy into it") that's when the song becomes absolutely peak.

Clumsy Heart

After listening to three songs with full-sounding choruses, it feels good to have a song that lets silence breathe, it's like a honey roussette in a box of Boston cremes (that's a Tim Hortons joke in case you don't get it). The guitars have this super fun little strumming pattern that I can only describe as a “dugudugudu” because I don't actually know anything about guitar. The singer's voice is at its goofiest, at its most endearing, but that's exactly how I love it. His "is the haaaaardest part" flowing directly into "clumsy heart" is *chef's kiss*. The synth has a little bell sound that's already pleasant, but it becomes absolutely angelic during the bridge. And speaking of that bridge. The voice, which was brittle and cracking, now melts like butter from the little dish on the counter; I feel like I'm floating and I lose all negative emotion for like 30 seconds. I know it wouldn't be as good without the rest of the song around it, but it's unfair that I only get two little bites of this auditory caramel.

Little Maggots

Another song that follows the formula of chill little verse and big energetic chorus. And honestly, it still works so well! The first verse is kind of meh, but as soon as that first pre-chorus silence hits, the song picks up and becomes so catchy,it really makes me want to go skateboarding. Once again, we get an absolutely killer lyric: "May your organs fail before your dreams fail you", and on top of that the little youuuuuu rising is candy for the ears. The drums here are a highlight, creating both the rhythm and the mood. Plus, there's this quick little choir near the end that just makes my ears cum. Definitely a track that felt kind of mid on first listens, but now I adore it.

What Katie Said

What a catharsis this song is!! What the fuck, I've never wanted to be 14 years old again as much as when I listen to this. Another chill verse / heavy chorus structure, and oh my god it works so well. The bass-guitar duo hitting all those different notes fits perfectly with the theme of relationships that mess with your head. And that chorus, oh my god! I want to scream it from rooftops, or in my bedroom with huge speakers just to annoy my parents. The song is super short, but it doesn't need to be any longer: it's like a Sour Cherry Blast, it punches and it tastes damn good.

Sunburn Vs. the Rhinovirus

Here we have an example of when the mellow-heavy mix doesn't work as well. The song's good, don't get me wrong, but the choruses are SO much better than the verses that it feels unfair. In the end, the verses just sound too similar to the rest of the album, and they become kind of forgettable. Special shoutout to the lyric "I blow my brains out through my nose", which is already graphic on its own, but then gets elevated during the bridge when you clearly hear a gun sound right after. Hats off (since it's flying away in the wind after blowing my brains out).

Lazier Than Furniture

This track is like one of those little sugar packets at a breakfast diner, except the packet is filled with pure rage. It's super short, it's violent, the voice is disgusting, but we're not here for musicality with this one, it's all about the feeling. And yeah, there's a hell of a lot of feeling in there. Somehow it gives me an uncontrollable urge to headbang, and a much more controlled urge to smash my furniture with a hammer. The song builds up, with some fun little harmonies, and when he screams between the two parts it's like a massive emotional release that somehow makes the track feel even more violent. The ending's a bit long though, he has this monumental crash-out that you can barely hear.

Didi (My Doe, Part 2)

Not a bad song at all! It's just not what I listen to this album for. It has a much more classic rock vibe, with a much brighter guitar sound. That said, there are some fun moments—the little "worst!" lines are like drops of lemon juice, and the half-step key change just for four beats is fun. Definitely a good track, just maybe not on the right album.

You (Don't) Know Me

I absolutely love when they use their voices as an instrument, and the little oOoOoOoO scattered through the track are electric. A song with so much swagger, and as a fan of claps in songs, this is a real feast. The singer takes on a voice he uses nowhere else on the album, the kind of voice that makes it feel like he's got his shoulders raised and palms open facing the ground (who's got the reference?). Oh, and that Tom Morello-style solo is a treat, give me 1000 more of those. Plus, there's a vibraslap???? This track is just plain weird (towards the end there's even a sound that reminds me of Discord notifications, and every time it gets me), but I'm weird too and nobody says anything, so shoutout!

My Soft And Deep

Ooooh! Two songs in a row with little random vocal noises used as instruments, and I am here for it. This one has a really good verse-chorus mix, with verses that cut and a chorus that feels like balm on a wound. Also, that post-bridge section is so epic??? Not completely out of nowhere, but like, was the thunder really necessary? 100% yes, insane atmosphere. Not much else to say about this fire track, except that I think he says "try this trick and spin it" (I haven't checked), but I hear "try this chicken spinach" and it makes me laugh.

Shoot Me In The Smile

Another song with forgettable verses and choruses I would literally die in battle for. Speaking of choruses, they're so fun, the first line is super mellow, then the second one gets more violent in its delivery. And the guitar beneath the "Shoot me, shoot me in the smile" is so cool that it oozes swagger from all its pores. And holy Zeus, that solo is so cool I'd like to have its child. All in all, a good song that suffers from mid verse syndrome.

The Barber's Unhappiness

I love that the two most different songs on the album are the first and the last. And wow, we really end on a hell of a beautiful note. The instrumental is super atmospheric, constantly oscillating between floating at the surface and sinking straight down. The heavy parts feel so heavy, but that's a good thing. It hits a thousand times harder with all its slowness and the singer holding back from screaming it all out. And when the slow parts add in guitar feedback, I feel like I'm losing my footing and sinking back into the abyss. The bridge is fine, and the solo is more in line with the rest of their catalog, but it ties in well with the rest of the album so I'm not mad. And then it drops back into heavy and slow and by Toutatis we love that we LOVE THAT! A really beautiful song to close the loop on this album, magnificent in its simplicity and complex in the feelings it stirs in me.

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