SINGLE REVIEW: FEEBLE BY DECLAN WESH AND THE DECADENT WEST

A Declan Welsh and The Decadent West release day is always a good day. Welsh has always had a gift for balancing philosophical weight with street-level valour, but ‘Feeble’ is among his sharpest yet. 

The East Kilbride hailing fourpiece’s latest offering (featuring Helicon and AI Lover) takes a dark, intense turn in the band’s sonic journey. Whilst Welsh has leaned more into brooding instrumentation recently, often underpinned by searing guitars and relentless beats, his latest single carries a more ominous tension. Helicon brings the dark energy of a psych-warlord to the track’s sinister sonic backdrop, whilst AI Lover adds a pulsing electronic edge, deepening the song’s palette. 

Welsh’s vocals remain as urgent and compelling as ever: passionate and packed with emotion. His words tread the line between speaking and shouting in a way that feels incredibly cathartic. The lyrics match this, telling a story of violence and emotional fracture through the fictional character of Davie Malone:

“Davie knows what evil has known since it slithered from the ooze / That the body can heal from the cut and the bruise…/ Go down swinging, face the music and dance…/  Say I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees / Turns men into martyrs and L’s into We’s.”

It’s quintessential Welsh: mythic imagery dragged through Glasgow grit, exploring the seduction and danger of defiance. The references to Sun Tzu and Malcom Tucker intersect like strategy meeting chaos, ancient warfare clashing with a modern political meltdown.

For some, the intensity of ‘Feeble’ may feel overwhelming. For me it is a triumph; furious, articulate and unpredictable. It's the sort of track that ignites rooms and sets off moshpits before the first chorus even lands.