Decoders - Cellophane Veil
by Sarah Maybank
published: 2 / 12 / 2007

Label:
Tapestry Music
Format: CD
intro
Polished and radio-friendly AOR rock on new album from New Zealand group the Decoders who have located to London
Some wag once suggested that if blokes diverted the passion they have for their footie team to the women in their lives, the divorce rate would plummet. And it’s a dead cert that further progress would be made if they talked about relationship stuff rather than joining bands and singing about it. Still, that’d leave the Decoders with a big hole in their lyric sheets – and deprived of potential arena venue success, so don’t expect them to subscribe to that theory in the near future. ‘Cellophane Veil’ is the CK One of contemporary grown-up rock. Polished, well-crafted and radio-friendly, it has a driving muscularity that’ll keep the boys happy, plus the heartfelt lyrics and a melodic core needed to snare the girls. The use of classic rock formulas give the album an epic, American feel ; the anthemic ‘Greater Good’ references the quiet/loud dynamic that made millions for everyone from Boston to Nirvana. The irreverent, Blink 182-ish ‘Plastic Lullaby’, meanwhile, adds a more contemporary edge, as does 'Crash & Burn', which shares power riffs with Linkin Park. Contemplative without being downbeat, ‘Cellophane Veil’ suffers slightly from a bias towards the mid-tempo, but that never hurt Oasis did it? Plus it’d be interesting to see how well it could do across the pond in comparison. Better get pestering that record company, lads.
Track Listing:-
1 Crash & Burn2 Changing
3 All Alone
4 Come Undone
5 Cellophane Veil
6 Humble
7 My Fixation
8 Plastic Lullaby
9 The Greater Good
10 State Of Mine
11 Dreams
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