Review: Declan Welsh & The Decadent West, King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, 2022
Declan Welsh & The Decadent West, King Tuts, 16th April 2022. Photo Credit: Donald Erskine
Declan Welsh and The Decadent West continued to cement themselves firmly in the heart of the Glasgow music scene with a storming performance at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut on Saturday 16th April, bookending a run of three sold-out nights at the venue.
The East Kilbride-born outfit flew through a heavyweight set of old and new songs to the adoring audience. Now synonymous with standing up for what they believe in and their self-aware socialist views, they carry with them the swagger of a band that are well aware of exactly who they are. Welsh is accompanied by anthemic, singalong guitar riffs as they weave through the poetic parables that he preaches.
Supported by last-minute additions to the bill, The Big Day (who replaced the unavailable Uninvited) did a stellar job of warming up the audience, by getting in amongst them. Frontman, Ryan Hunter, jumped the barriers and into the crowd to get the early comers fired up and with their bass-heavy pop rock.
Declan Welsh and The Decadent West then opened with ‘No Fun,’ the first track from their 2019 album ‘Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold,’ it perfectly sets the scene for the social-commentary-infused setlist ahead, parodying some of the all too familiar members of the generic generation they belong to.
From then on staple songs, with new efforts such as a first play for April released ‘Impermanency,’ were belted out for the packed 300-capacity venue. Highlights came with clear fan favourites such as ‘Talking to Myself,’ ‘Times’ and ‘Lull.’ Acknowledging their growing catalogue, Welsh joked: “We usually have a bit more banter, but we have that many tunes now we’ll just need to fire through them!”
The new music shows a further evolution to the song writing produced by the band, a maturity and experience shining through as anger is replaced with introspective questions. Not only has Welsh mastered colloquial, angsty preaching over the post-punk infused rhythm section, but has incorporated softer touches like stepping into his immaculate falsetto on tracks like ‘Turn Me On’, showing a clear depth and dynamic to the sounds in their arsenal.
Throughout the set it became clear that not only are Welsh and co. comfortable on the King Tuts stage but have now outgrown it. The crowd roared every chorus and verse back at the band and sang every arena ready guitar riff verbatim. The whole gig screamed for a bigger stage for Welsh to strut on, a bigger sound system to blast out the band as they deserve and, above all, a bigger room for the bigger audience they now attract.
Having played at SWG3 in November 2021 and heading off in a few weeks to support Twin Atlantic on a tour across the UK and Ireland (which will include two fully booked Barrowland’s shows) the bigger stage is already waiting for them. As they proved on Saturday night, they are definitely ready for it.
With a diverse and confident sound, coupled with the talents of their frontman and soaring melodies, this is a band who will only grow from strength to strength. If Declan Welsh and The Decadent West are on a festival bill or are a support act near you, be sure to see them, you will not be disappointed.
See the setlist for the show – here.
★★★★☆ - Must see, they are the future of Glasgow guitar rock, one to watch and certainly not miss if you get the chance!