The Decibels When Red Lights Flash

The Decibels are almost cicada-like in that when you think you've heard the last of them with a release that came out a few years ago, out of nowhere another Decibels record appears out of thin air. Work on "When Red Lights Flash" actually started at the very end of 2019, and then March of 2020 happened and turned the whole world upside down for the next couple of years. When the guys got together again in 2022 to resume work on the record, like everyone, they had changed-not in ways that you can easily define or even put a finger on, but you can hear it on the record. While they are still up to their trademark sound with big chords, big beats, and catchy melodies inspired by all the best guitar-based pop music from the last 60 years, there is an underlying current in this record that wasn't there before. The only way to describe it is if "Scene Not Herd" was the Decibels in 1965, then "When Red Lights Flash" would be the Decibels in 1967. It's a record that reflects where we've all been and grapples to make sense of where we are now and what lies ahead. "When Red Lights Flash" is the kind of record that will travel well with you the rest of your days. They still channel their own brand of moddish guitar power-pop (elements of THE BEAT, THE ROMANTICS, THE PLIMSOULS, the mod-era WHO with a pinch of the JAM, but squeezed through their own filter that gives them their own sound) with the same fire and intensity that they've always had. This just might be their "All Mod Cons". As we get older and realize that nothing is promised, it's good to have another Decibels LP as a small reminder to appreciate the now.