Broken Flags - Sweet Decadence (Single Review)

Broken Flags are an indie rock 4-piece, from my hometown of Stoke-On-Trent. The quartet consists of; Jack Dooley on lead vocals, Lew Adams on lead guitar, Ash Clay on the drums and Josh Buckley on the bass. Broken Flags have supported some very well-known bands from out of the area such as; Riding The Low, The View and they are even supporting Shed Seven on the 29th of July this year! 'Sweet Decadence' is Broken Flags debut single and it was released on the 18th of April in 2016.  When I was asked to write this review, I was immediately intrigued by the song title - I don't know what it was about it, but it just catched my eye... Resulting in me doing a bit of snooping, and I came across a very well-fitted definition. The way that I interpreted the definition was that the meaning of decadence was to excessively self-indulge in something or rather, however the sweet represents the finer things in life - the treats. So let's find out if this track is actually about what I think it is about - excessively indulging in the more luxurious things in life...

Riveting guitar riffs from Adams and Buckley open up the track, alongside the punching, rhythmic drums from Clay. The band were shortly accompanied by Dooley's Mancunian brit-pop styled vocals, as he sang out the title in a Gallagher whine. This track sounds very inspired by the brit-pop era, I can hear sprouts of Oasis and Blur within the track. This line in particular proves my point about the title of the track, about the finer things in life...

'Because; the women, the money, I'm 'tryna find it funny.'

There's quite a sinicister line within the track as if to say 'you get what you deserve' when you're a materialistic snob and then you lose everything in the blink of an eye.

'And all the tears you've cried, let them run because the man don't lie.'

The chorus noticeably stood out to me, because just where is home? Is home a past-time? Is home your childhood?

'Won't you take me back home, take me back home.'

In conclusion this track is jam-packed full of riveting indie guitar riffs, punchy drums, and brit-pop inspired vocals. The title of the track is incredibly clever as the lyrics match precisely to the meaning of the song title, and you can't fault how intellectual the title is - the song title just captivates you before you are even given the chance to give the track a listen. 'Sweet Decadence' is just about the materialistic values of things in life and I'm presuming that home is childhood whereby you do not put a materialistic value on anything because there is simply no need to. The only piece of constructive criticism that I have for Broken Flags within this track is that the pronunciation on the lyrics needs to be a lot clearer as there were quite a few areas whereby I couldn't quite grasp what Dooley was saying, however this could be a quality difficulty within the production of the track. On the other hand if the quality isn't the problem, then the instruments need to be toned down when certain climax's of the track appear in order to emphasise a focus on the lyrics and vocals as a whole. Apart from that minor issue the track is brilliant, and Broken Flags should be very proud at how far they have come and the production of their track. I wish them the best of luck with all of their future endeavours, and I hope that they have an absolute ball supporting Shed Seven! You can listen to their track in the YouTube link that I have added below or on spotify.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3fy0VKd63G4