EP Review: Decent Criminal – ‘DC EP’

It’s always a strange sensation when you first listen to a record with little knowledge of the band and it blows your mind, sending you scrambling to search out their entire catalogue and leaving you wondering how the hell you missed them in the first place. I had this exact experience when listening to DC EP, the latest release from Santa Rosa, California punks Decent Criminal.

Drifter kicks off the EP in style, heavily  influenced by 90’s alt-rock with the quiet/loud dynamic used to excellent effect but yet sounding modern and very much of today.  Reap lowers the tempo to something that wouldn’t sound out of place on the Sandinista! stage at Strummercamp (if such a thing existed) and is a welcome change of pace,  but the clear standout on offer here is the absolutely stunning Bizarre. It was the first single to be shared (and my introduction to the band) and is a simply flawless ~2 minutes of indie pop punk. Imagine The Buzzcocks, Weezer and a heavy dose of the criminally lesser known and underappreciated 90’s power pop outfit Flop all thrown together and you would be somewhere close  – it is a song that will refused to leave your head after a first spin and you will  be more than happy for it to stay there. The acoustic demo of the same track is a nice inclusion. The fact it loses none of its charm or impact even in this striped down state, just further illustrates how good a song it is.

DC EP is a significant step forward in the band’s ever maturing sound and is an early contender for a spot on 2021’s end of year best of lists. 

Decent Criminal – DC EP is available March 5^th via Sell The Heart Records (in the U.S.) and Gunner Records (in Europe) via their bandcamp.