Dekadens
Review by Magda Knight
Dekadens is a post-punk indie band with a touch of electro. They've toured the hell out of Romania, they're about to tour America - and they're fronted by the lovely Starsfade from our very own messageboard...
Dekadens was put together in 2006 and the line-up consists of Becky Elian singing her hardcore heart out, Janin Pasniciuc banging moody hell out of his guitar, Mihai Andrei doing nasty dark things with his base, and Bogdan Alexandrescu holding it all together (hey, no drummer jokes! Drummers always hold it all together! Probably!) on the drums.
They may be a post-punk indie band, but Dekadens are more than happy to wear their electro-loving hearts on the sleeve. The bands that Dekadens has named as their influences have a damn good pedigree: Metric, Giant Drag, Paramore, Cansei de ser sexy, Julliette and the Licks, Placebo. Frontwoman Becky Elian has a clean, hard sound that surfs the post-punk drums and geetars and gives it direction - much like Julliette Lewis or Lovefoxxx, the stalwart singer of CSS.
Dekadens have got Romania pretty much covered. They tour there constantly, and have held their own at its biggest festivals (Stufstock and B'estfest, of cours).
2008 has been a good year for them - they bought out a sharply-titled album called "Kill and Tell" (Roadrunner Music).
2009 looks set to be even better. In March they'll be touring for the first time in Canada and America. They'll be going to Canadian Music Week and South by South West - and that's a big deal. Oh yes.
Okay, shall we have a drummer joke now? Sure. When Becky was asked if any weirdnesses had happened to Dekadens as a result of touring, she did mention they did a gig in Constanta that ended with an unfortunate drinking frenzy and - not a good idea on tour, this - the rest of the band kicking out the drummer. Oops. Aside from that, Becky assures Mookychick that Dekadens is a normal, hard-working band.
Sure, all bands have an innate desire to dominate the planet (and in the case of X-Factor winners, anywhere else in the solar system, ha-ha on Simon Cowell and his crazy small-print-obssessed lawyers!), but Dekadens are modest, too: their MySpace page explains that as well as sounding obscene, like Portishead beheaded or a russian teenager who moved to California and started doing drugs, Dekadens also sound "awesome... If you can't tell Beethoven from Snoop Dog".
They shouldn't put themselves down. If you want to listen to two stand-out tracks on MySpace to give yourself an idea of their sharp sound, first listen to 'Fire in the Hole'. It's not amateur thrash - 'Fire in the Hole' shows its punk sensibilities, but it's got a simmering, ferocious yet controlled energy.
Next, listen to 'Love Is'. This number is toned down by Dekadens standards (not a ballad! Heaven forbid!) that shows you the range that Dekadens is capable of.
Unless you're from Eastern Europe, Canada or the US, it may be a while before Dekadens reaches you. They will, though. They're strong enough to make it that far. And there's no point running for cover - you might as well embrace the intelligent energy running through their music and hot-hoof it to the nearest gig. And if you've already bought the album, you'll know exactly which bits to pogo to...
See more female-friendly music on Mookychick
Dekadens performing 'Midnight Star' at Stufstock
