Declan Welsh & The Decadent West release new double A-side

Notting Hill Music signing Declan Welsh & The Decadent West have released their brand-new double A-side, “Run Down Small Town” / “City Used To Be Alive”, via V2 Records.

The two tracks act as sister songs, pairing the band’s urgent, anthemic sound with Declan’s reflections on towns and cities that have gradually been stripped of their identity, purpose and community.

“Run Down Small Town” began with a synth shifting between minor and major, before the band added deep guitars and bass, a Silent Alarm-inspired lead line and a final layer of horns. Once everything came together, its forceful “RUN! DOWN! SMALL! TOWN!” chorus felt like the natural centrepiece.

Declan explains that the instability and coarseness of the music are closely tied to the song’s subject matter.

“It’s a description of a snapshot in time and place, and an argument about how it got there,” he says. “It’s crazy how utterly expendable these places that used to have a purpose have become.”

The aggression running through the track reflects the experience of communities being left behind and people being cast adrift from places that once promised security, opportunity and a meaningful role within the country.

That decay is captured in one of the song’s most striking lyrics: “Like a tooth in a Coke can, consumed it rots away, and all that’s left is the empty chemical taste.”

“City Used To Be Alive” continues the theme from a different angle. Described by Declan as the sister song to “Run Down Small Town”, it was written to feel defiant and danceable despite confronting how much city life has changed.

The song looks beyond simple nostalgia towards material changes: people having less money, rent becoming increasingly expensive, the loss of third spaces and the lack of investment in creative sectors and venues. Together, those pressures have changed how people gather, celebrate and feel connected to where they live.

“There’s this memory of when it felt like it was just good enough that people found a way to still celebrate and belong,” Declan says. “When people were excited to go out and dance, and when the city felt like it was somewhere things were happening.”

“I wanted it to sound like then, while discussing now. Like a party at the end of it all.”

“Run Down Small Town” / “City Used To Be Alive” is out now via V2 Records.