The Decay are a Canadian melodic punk act with some heavy street punk-esque overtones. With This Months Rent, there's three things that bother me about the layout: the lack of an easily navigational track listing anywhere; the grammatical error; and the unpleasant surprise of being mooned by a hairy backside in the tray art. With the actual music itself, nothing really bothers me per se, but the Decay aren't doing anything special or wild enough to truly grab me.

To their credit, the band's got a clear handle on cohesiveness, flow, and exuberance. What they do is actually kind of unique in a way too, since if we're drawing comparisons they can really only be made vaguely. Their singer has a tinge of Frankie Stubbs-esque rasp, and the band march forth with the camaraderie, energy and guitar work of a Street Dogs record, peppering the songs with enlivened backup gang shouts.

But there's something largely missing from This Months Rent--maybe it's any sort of restraint; maybe it's a lack of variety; maybe the hooks just aren't strong enough; maybe the songs are conducted well, but are still forgettable. It seems like a mix of all these things, really.

Little extras help keep attention afloat, at least--whether that be the muffled sound clip and building guitar riff to open "Winterlude"; more jagged, dynamic chord changes and texture-assisting tambourine in "Hey Blondie I'm Dreaming"; the near straight-ahead hardcore vibe of the otherwise unfortunately lyrically incomprehensible "All I Need"; or the folky upstroke shuffle and transition to bigger sing-along--by and large the album's modus operandi--of "I'm Moving to B.C.".

It's clear the Decay have the best of intentions--they put the album up for free download, and suggested the donations go directly to CH Global for Haitian relief efforts.

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These Days
My Friends Carry Me Home
Empty Frames